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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Franklin K. Lane, Secretary 


George Otis Smith, Director 


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Bulletin 628 




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GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF 




CASTLE VALLEY 


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IN CARBON, EMERY, AND SEVIER 
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CHARLES T. LUPTON 




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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Franklin K. Lane, Secretary 


United States Geological Survey 

George Otis Smith, Director 


Bulletin 628 


GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF 

CASTLE VALLEY 


IN CARBON, EMERY, AND SEVIER 
COUNTIES, UTAH 


BY 

CHARLES T. LUPTON 

n 



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i> * 

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* 9 * 

WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1916 







4 


ADDITIONAL COPIES 

OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM 
THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 

AT 

20 CENTS PER COPY 
V 


D. of D. 
JUN 13 1916 





CONTENTS. 



Introduction. 

General statement. 

Object of investigation. 

History. 

Method of field work. 

Land survey. 

Acknowledgments. 

Geography. 

Position and extent. 

Settlements. 

Roads and trails. 

Drainage and water resources. 

Climate and vegetation.... 

Surface features. 

General statement. 

Wasatch Plateau. 

Castle Valley. 

San Rafael Swell. 

Geology... 

Stratigraphy. 

General features. 

Carboniferous (Permian) and Triassic rocks. 

Triassic system. 

Vermilion Cliff sandstone. 

Jurassic system. 

La Plata sandstone. 

Jurassic (?) system.. 

McElmo formation. 

Cretaceous system.. 

Dakota sandstone. 

Mancos shale.. 

General features.. 

Shale below the Perron sandstone member 

Ferron sandstone member.. 

Shale above the Ferron sandstone member 

Mesaverde formation.. 

Tertiary system. 

Eocene series. 

Wasatch formation. 

Green River (?) formation.. 

Quaternary (?) system. 

Pleistocene (?) series. 

Alluvial fans. 

Terrace gravels. 


Page. 

hr 

l 

7 

8 


9 

10 

11 

12 

12 

12 

13 

14 

15 
17 
17 

17 

18 
18 
19 
19 
19 
19 
21 
22 
22 
23 
23 
23 
23 
26 
26 
30 
30 

30 

31 

33 

34 

35 
35 

35 

36 
36 
36 

36 

37 


3 















































4 


CONTENTS. 


Geology—Continued. 

Stratigraphy—Continued. Page. 

Quaternary system. 39 

Recent series. 39 

Igneous rocks. 39 

Structure. 39 

General features. 39 

Upfolds and domes. 40 

Faults. 41 

The coal. ^3 

General features. 43 

Correlation of coal beds in Ferron sandstone member of Mancos shale. 44 

Occurrence. 47 

Coal in the Ferron sandstone member of the Mancos shale. 47 

T. 21 S., R. 7 E. 47 

T. 22 S., R. 6 E. 48 

T. 22 S., R. 7 E. 54 

• T. 23 S., R. 6 E. 56 

T. 24 S., R. 5 E. 63 

T. 24 S., R. 6 E. 67 

T. 25 S., R. 4 E. 71 

T. 25 S., R. 5 E. 72 

T. 26 S., R. 4 E. 73 

Coal in the Dakota sandstone. 74 

Coal in the Mesaverde formation. 76 

Coal in the Mancos shale near Henry Mountains. 76 

Character of the coal. 77 

Physical properties. 77 

Chemical properties. 78 

Development. 83 

Mines and prospects..'. 83 

Cox prospect. 83 

Moore mine. 83 

Williams mine. 83 

Casper mine. 84 

Emery mine..•. 84 

Browning mine. 84 

Other drifts. 85 

Transportation routes. 86 

Tonnage. 8 6 

Index. 87 









































ILLUSTRATIONS. 


rage. 


Plate I. A, Coal-bearing rocks (Ferron sandstone member of the Mancos shale) 
near Mounds, at the northeast end of Castle Valley; B, Coal- 
bearing rocks near Last Chance Creek in the southwestern part 

of the Emery coal field. 8 

II. A, Contact of McElmo formation and La Plata sandstone on the west 
flank of the San Rafael Swell; B . Local unconformity in the Dakota 
sandstone northeast of Ferron. 24 

III. A, Ferron sandstone member of the Mancos shale southeast of Emery; 

B, Local unconformity in the Ferron sandstone member of the 
Mancos shale, about 10 miles south of Emery. 30 

IV. Columnar sections of the Ferron sandstone member of the Mancos 

shale in Castle Valley. 32 

V. Concretions in the Ferron sandstone member of the Mancos shale, 

about 6 miles southeast of Castledale. 34 

VI. A, Emery fault, north of I We Creek; B, Paradise fault, near the 

southwest end of the Emery coal field. 40 

VII. Columnar sections, showing the stratigraphic position of coal beds in 
the Ferron sandstone member of the Mancos shale in the Emery 

coal field. 44 

VIII. Sections of coal beds in T. 21 S., R. 7 E., T. 22 S., Rs. 6 and 7 E., 

and T. 23 S., R. 6 E. 74 

IX. Sections of coal beds in T. 24 S., Rs. 5 and 6 E., T. 25 S., Rs. 4 and 5 

E., and T. 26 S., R. 4 E. 74 

X. Map of Emery coal field, Emery and Sevier counties, Utah. 74 

XI. A, Williams mine, on coal bed I, about 3 miles east of Emery; B . 

Casper mine, on coal bed C, about 4 miles southeast of Emery_ 84 

XII. Geologic map of Castle Valley, in Carbon, Emery, and Sevier counties, 

Utah. 86 

Figure 1. Index map of Utah showing location of Castle Valley and the Emery 

coal field. 8 

















/ 


ft 


GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE YALLEY 
IN CARBON, EMERY, AND SEYIER COUNTIES, UTAH. 


By Charles T. Lupton. 


INTRODUCTION. 

GENERAL STATEMENT. 

Castle Valley includes parts of Carbon, Emery, and SeYuer coun¬ 
ties and is situated between the Wasatch Plateau and the San Rafael 
Swell, in the east-central part of Utah. (See PI. XII and index 
map, fig. 1.) The outcrops of the coal-bearing rocks and adjacent 
formations of the Book Cliffs were mapped and studied by Richard¬ 
son 1 from Grand Riyer, Colo., westward and northwestward to the 
north end of Castle Valiev. The writer traced from north to south 
the lowest formations studied by Richardson, beginning near Mounds 
(Sunnyside Junction), on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, and 
ending about 80 miles to the southwest in T. *26 S., R. I E., at the 
north end of Thousand Lake Mountain. 

The rocks designated in this report the Ferron sandstone member 
of the Mancos shale contain the more important coal beds at the south 
end of Castle Valiev east and south of Emery, but in the northern 

v / 

part of the area they contain no coal. Xear Mounds these rocks 
consist of approximately 75 feet of soft yellowish sandstone char¬ 
acterized by a concretion-bearing stratum. Plate I, A, shows the 
character of the topography where these rocks crop out near Mounds. 
This sandstone increases in thickness toward the southwest, from 
about 75 feet at Mounds to about 800 feet at Last Chance Creek. 
(See columnar sections in PI. IV, p. 32.) The character of the 
surface in this locality is shown in Plate I, B. In the southern part 
of the field II coal beds are exposed in these rocks. This coal has 
been described briefly by Taff, 2 3 who examined a few prospects and 
mines south of Emery in 1905 during his investigation of the higher 
(Mesaverde) coal-bearing rocks along the east scarp of the Wasatch 
Plateau. 


1 Richardson, G. B., Reconnaissance of the Book Cliffs coal field between Grand River. 

Colo., and Sunnyside, Utah : U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 371, 1909. 

3 Taff, J. A., Book Cliffs coal field, Utah, west of Green River: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 





8 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VaLLEY, UTAH. 


OBJECT OF INVESTIGATION. 

The primary object of this examination was to determine the 
quality and quantity of the coal in order that the land, part of which 
had been withdrawn from all forms of entry, might be classified, 
valued, and restored to entry. The method of determining the 



quality and quantity of the coal is discussed fully under “ Method of 
field work ” (pp. 10-11). A secondary purpose of the investigation was 
to collect geologic information regarding this region, of which little 
was definitely known. The age, character, and thickness of the 
coal-bearing formations, and their relations to the underlying and 

































































U. S. GEOLOGICAL. SURVEY 


BULLETIN 628 PLATE I 



A. COAL-BEARING ROCKS (FERRON SANDSTONE MEMBER OF THE MANCOS SHALE) NEAR 
MOUNDS, AT THE NORTHEAST END OF CASTLE VALLEY. 


1, Book Cliffs, near Sunnyside. 


1 

4 



B. COAL-BEARING ROCKS (IN FOREGROUND) NEAR LAST CHANCE CREEK, IN THE SOUTH¬ 
WESTERN PART OF THE EMERY COAL FIELD. 


1, Thousand Lake Mountain. 








INTRODUCTION. 


9 


overlying rocks were studied. Fossils materially aid in determin¬ 
ing geologic age, and a careful search along the outcrop was made 
for them. Data regarding the character and thickness of a forma¬ 
tion are collected by carefully measuring and describing the various 
strata that compose it. The relations of contiguous formations are 
determined by an examination of the contact line separating them. 
The criteria that are usually relied upon as proof of a time interval 
between the periods of deposition of adjacent formations are (1) a 
discordance in the dip of the strata, (2) erosion channels, and (3) 
conglomerate. On the other hand, if the strata accord in dip and 
there are no signs of an erosional stage, fossils collected immediately 
above and below a contact line are often of importance in determin¬ 
ing whether or not the beds are conformable. 

HISTORY. 

From 50 to 60 miles of the old Spanish Trail, which extended 
from Santa Fe, N. Mex., to Monterey, Cal., at the time these places 
were centers of Spanish civilization on this continent, lies in Castle 
Valley. The coal in this field may or may not have been known at 
the time this trail was used extensively. 

Capt. J. TV Gunnison, of the Corps of Topographic Engineers, 1 
traversed Castle Valley from north to south in the. early part of 
October, 1853, on the way to Sevier Valley, where he and several 
of his party were killed by Indians a few days after passing through 
this field. Lieut. E. G. Beckwith, who wrote the report of this ex¬ 
pedition, states, in his journal for October 11, 1853: “ Specimens of 
coal were brought in from the hills near the camp, Capt. Gunni¬ 
son and Dr. Schiel differing in opinion as to its quality.” The 
party was camped at this date near the north end of the Emery coal 
field, about 3 miles east of Emery, approximately in sec. 12, T. 22 
S., R. 6 E. So far as known this is the first published reference to 
the coal in this field. 

During the summer of 1873 Lieut. R. L. Ploxie, 2 Corps of Engi¬ 
neers, and his party mapped the topography and geology of east- 
central and south-central Utah. Their route of travel led south- 
Avard through Castle Valley and across this coal-bearing area. E. E. 
Howell, 3 who was with this party as geologist, referred to the 
coal in Castle Valley and along Muddy Creek. Robert Forrester 4 
described briefly the coal on Quitchuppah and Ivie creeks and gave 
proximate analyses of both the “ top vein ” (bed I ?) and the “ bot- 

1 U. S. Pacific R. R. Expl., vol. 2, pp. 62-66, 1855. 

2 Wheeler, G. M., U. S. Geog. Surveys W. 100th Mer. Ann. Rept. for 1874, p. 5, 1874. 

3 Wheeler, G. M„ U. S. Geog. Surveys W. 100th Mer. Final Rept., vol. 3, pp. 277, 279, 
1875. 

*U. S. Geol. Survey Mineral Resources, 1892, pp. 518-519, 1893. 



10 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

tom vein” (bed C?). He considered these coals to be in a down- 
faulted portion of the Montana group, which is represented in part 
by the Mesaverde formation in the Wasatch Plateau, a few miles 
to the west. This classification has been the topic of considerable 
debate b}^ those familiar with the coals of this part of Utah. J. A. 
TafF 1 in 1905 examined the coal-bearing rocks along the east face 
of the Wasatch Plateau and also noted the coal at the south end of 
Castle Valley described in the present report. 

METHOD OF FIELD WORK. 

This report is based on a detailed examination of the coal beds, 
of the geologic formations in which the coal occurs, and of some of 
the overlying and underlying formations. Field work was begun 
near Mounds, on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, July 17, 1911, 
and was terminated at Ivie Creek on October 7 of the same year. 
That part of the coal field lying south of Ivie Creek was examined 
from September 9 to November 3, 1912. Detailed work on the coal 
beds in the vicinity of and 30 miles south of Emery (see PI. X, p. 74) 
was done from September 8 to October 7, 1911, and from September 
9 to November 3, 1912. 

A system of triangulation was developed over the area as an aid 
in mapping surface features other than coal, such as roads, trails, 
houses, streams, and rock ledges. North of Ivie Creek this primary 
control was established by means of a 24-inch Johnson plane table 
and a Gale telescopic alidade on a scale of 1 inch to 1 mile. 

The outcrop of each coal bed was mapped with relation to land 
corners and the thickness of the coal beds was measured at as many 
places as seemed necessary in order to obtain accurate information 
regarding the variations in character and thickness. Many Govern¬ 
ment corner monuments near the coal outcrops were located, and 
enough others were found some distance from the coal outcrops to 
enable the accurate mapping of the Emery coal field. The coal beds 
from the vicinity of Emery at the north edge of the field southward 
to Willow Creek, except in a small area north of Ivie Creek and 
west of Quitchuppah Creek, were mapped by means of a 15-inch 
Bumstead plane table and a Gale alidade on a scale of 2 inches to 1 
mile. (See PI. X.) Mines, prospects, and points at which the coal 
beds were measured were located by stadia. The coal beds and 
geologic boundaries between Ivie and Quitchuppah creeks were 
located by triangulation at the time the primary control was 
obtained. That part of the coal field lying south and southwest of 
Willow Creek was mapped by the triangulation method on a scale of 
2 inches to 1 mile. Samples of coal for analysis (see p. 80) were 
collected at seven places and represent the three principal coal beds 


1 Op. cit., pp. 280-302. 





INTRODUCTION. 


11 


(A, C, and I) in the field. (See table of analysis, p. 80.) The 
geologic unit in which the coals occur was examined, and sections 
of these rocks were measured at different places. Fossils were col¬ 
lected wherever possible and are listed under “ Geology ” (pp. 
19-43). Formations overlying and underlying the coal-bearing rocks 
were studied, and sections of them were measured in detail in order 
to obtain a general conception of the geologic column in this vicinity. 
A geologic section, from the lowest rocks observed by the writer in 
the interior of the San Rafael Swell, lying to the east, to the highest 
rocks on top of the Wasatch Plateau, a few miles to the west, is given 
by formations under “Stratigraphy” (pp. 19-39). 

LAND SURVEY. 

Castle Valley, the greater part of which has been subdivided into 
sections, was surveyed with relation to the Salt Lake base and merid¬ 
ian. Nearly all of this work was done by A. D. Ferron, after whom 
the town of Ferron, in Emery County, was named. The coal-bearing 
portion of the area included within Tps. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 S., 
Rs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 E., is described in greater detail than the remainder 
of the field, which lies to the north and northeast of Emery. The 
southeastern part of T. 21 S., R. 6 E.; T. 21 S., R. 7 E., except the 
southeastern part; T. 22 S., R. 6 E., except about four sections in the 
northwestern part; and the northwestern part of T. 23 S., R. 6 E., 
were surveyed by Mr. Ferron in July and August, 1873. In May, 
1881, T. 23 S., R. 5 E., except the northwestern part, was subdivided 
by the same surveyor. The eastern part of T. 22 S., R. 5 E., and the 
north half of T. 24 S., R. 5 E., were subdivided by Mr. Ferron in 
August and October, respectively, 1890. Mr. Ferron and A. Jessen 
subdivided the east half of T. 26 S., R. 4 E., in November, 1892, and 
in June, 1895, they surveyed the east-central part of T. 25 S., R. 4 
E. In July, 1896, A. P. Hanson made a survey of the south-central 
and west-central parts of T. 25 S., R. 5 E. The survey of the north¬ 
eastern part of T. 23 S., R. 6 E., was completed in November, 1909, 
by Mr. Ferron. All this work was done under the contract system. 
The two remaining tracts of the Emery coal field (see PI. X, p. 74), 
the southeastern part of T. 21 S., R. 7 E., and all of T. 22 S., R. 7 E., 
were subdivided in May, 1910, by H. W. Miller and A. Nelson, who 
were in the direct employ of the General Land Office. Under the 
contract system the section and quarter-section corners are marked 
by stone monuments, a large number of which are still in place and 
easily read. The corners in the areas surveyed in 1910 by the Gen¬ 
eral Land Office are marked by iron pipes with copper caps on which 
the positions of the monuments are recorded. 

The recent surveys in Tps. 21 and 22 S., R. 7 E., and T. 23 S., R. 
6 E., and the results of the triangulation and stadia work of the 
geologic party in 1911 and 1912 seem to indicate that the lines of the 


12 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

older surveys are in places slightly longer than those given on the 
township plats. 

The land net at the south end of the coal-bearing area in Tps. 24 
and 25 S., Rs. 4 and 5 E., as shown on the accompanying maps 
(Pis. X and XII), differs from that which is given on the General 
Land Office plats of these townships. A sufficient number of Gov¬ 
ernment corners were located by the triangulation method used by 
the writer to prove definitely that the line connecting the corners 
between T. 25 S., R. 4 E., and T. 25 S., R. 5 E., and that part of 
T. 25 S., R. 5 E., which was surveyed with relation to that line, are 
about 850 feet w T est of the positions indicated on the Land Office 
plats, thus narrowing the width of the east tier of sections of T. 25 
S., R. 4 E., by that amount. In the construction of the accompany¬ 
ing maps (Pis. X and XII) the northeast corner of T. 25 S., R. 4 E., 
and the corresponding corner of T. 24 S., R. 4 E., w 7 ere connected by 
a straight line w 7 hose bearing is greater than that (S. 4° W.) indi¬ 
cated on the Land Office plat of T. 24 S., R. 5 E. The change in the 
bearing of this line necessarily makes the east-west dimensions of 
the west tier of sections in T. 24 S., R. 5 E., greater than those given 
on the township plat. The discrepancy above described is attributed 
by A. D. Ferron, who ran the line between Rs. 4 and 5 E. through 
Tps. 24 and 25 S., to the short chaining of the fifth standard parallel 
south. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

The field work in 1911 wvas done with the assistance of B. W. 
Clark and A. E. Fath. W. L. Mielke and Millard Massey served as 
camp hands and rendered efficient aid in rodding and in uncovering 
and measuring coal beds. In 1912 the writer was assisted in the field 
by R. V. A. Mills, Millard Massey, Arthur Massey, Merrill Allred, 
and Casper Christensen. In the office the careful work of R. V. A. 
Mills, Frank R, Clark, and E. R. Lloyd has made the report much 
more complete. The writer desires especially to acknowdedge the 
favors granted by the officials of the Emery County recorder’s office 
at Castledale, and also the courtesy and hospitality of the settlers 
throughout the field. Ira R. Browning also gave information of 
value. 

GEOGRAPHY. 

POSITION AND EXTENT. 

The area mapped in Castle Valley extends S. 80° W. from Mounds 
and lies between meridians 110° 30' and 111° 20' W. and parallels 
oS 35 and 39° 30 X. dhe entire field is about 80 miles long, ranges 
from 10 to 20 miles in width, and includes about 1,000 square miles. 
The index map (fig. 1) shows the relative position of this area in the 
State. The geology of the entire valley is represented on Plate XII. 


GEOGRAPHY. 


13 


That part of Castle Valley known as the Emery coal field is shown 
in detail on Plate X. 

The Emery coal field is at the south end of Castle Valley, between 
meridians 111° 3' and 111° 20' W. and parallels 38° 35' and 39° X. 
The greater part of this area lies along the west side of Emery 
County south of the middle, the remainder being included in the 
southeastern part of Sevier County. This coal field is about 25 miles 
long from north to south, and 22 miles wide from east to west, and 
includes about 300 square miles of land underlain by coal. 

SETTLEMENTS. 

The principal settlements in that part of Castle Valley described 
in this report are, in order from north to south, Wellington, Farnham, 
Mounds, Victor, Desert Lake, Cleveland, Huntington, Lawrence, 
Castledale, Orangeville, Clawson, Ferron, Molen, Rochester, and 
Emery. Wellington, on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, in secs. 
6 and 7, T. 15 S., R. 11 E., has a population of about 375 people. 
Farnham is a flag station on the railroad in sec. 22, T. 15 S., R. 11 E. 
Mounds, in the SE. \ SE. | sec. 5, T. 16 S., R. 12 E., is at the junction 
of the Sunnyside branch and the main line of the Denver & Rio 
Grande Railroad. It has a population of about 50 persons and con¬ 
sists of a few houses and a railroad station. Victor, in the S. \ sec. 29, 
T. 16 S., R. 11 E., and Desert Lake, in the N. J sec. 11, T. 17 S., R. 10 
E., are small settlements, each containing less than 100 inhabitants. 
Victor has a store and both have post offices. The town of Cleveland 
is in T. 17 S., on both sides of the line separating Rs. 9 and 10 E., in 
secs. 13 and 18, respectively. The 200 or more inhabitants support 
two or three stores and a good school. Huntington, the oldest settle¬ 
ment in the valley, has a population of about 800 persons, and is on 
Huntington Creek in T. 17 S., on both sides of the line separating 
Rs. 8 and 9 E., in secs. 24 and 25 and secs. 19 and 30, respectively. 
This town is the center of a prosperous farming community and is 
well supplied with schools, churches, hotels, and stores. Lawrence 
has about 80 inhabitants and a dozen or more houses on Huntington 
Creek, mainly in secs. 32 and 33, T. 17 S., R. 9 E. Castledale, the 
county seat of Emery County, is on Cottonwood Creek, in secs. 33 and 
34, T. 18 S., R. 8 E. The 700 or more inhabitants support schools, 
hotels, churches, and numerous stores. The town is lighted by elec¬ 
tricity and has the only academy in the southeastern part of Utah. 
Orangeville (not shown on the map), with a population of about 650, 
is also on Cottonwood Creek, about 3^ miles northwest of Castle¬ 
dale, in the southwestern part of the same township. Clawson is a 
small hamlet in sec. 26, T. 19 S., R. 7 E. It supports a church, school, 
and small store. The settlers receive their mail by means of a “ star ” 


14 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

mail route out of Castledale. Ferron, on Ferron Creek, mainly in 
secs. 9 and 10, T. 20 S., R. 7 E., has a population of about 650 persons. 
It is similar to Castledale, Huntington, Emery, and Cleveland in the 
number and character of stores, hotels, schools, and churches. Molen, 
also on Ferron Creek, in secs. 7 and 18, T. 20 S., R. 8 E., has about a 
dozen houses, a church, and a school, but neither store nor post office. 
The settlers in this locality receive their mail at Ferron. Rochester, 
in the southwestern part of T. 21 S., R. 7 E., is a small settlement with¬ 
out a post office. Emery, a village of about 550 inhabitants, mainly 
in secs. 4 and 9, E. 22 S., R. 6 E., is the principal town in the coal field 
at the south end of Castle Valley. The people living here are for the 
most part farmers who cultivate the irrigated lands adjacent to the 
village. A few ranchers live south and southwest of Emery on 
Quitchuppah Creek and along Muddy Creek in sec. 36, T. 22 S., R. 
6 E. Emery and the several other towns mentioned above have daily 
mail connections with Price, the county seat of Carbon County, on 
the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, 65 miles north of Emery. 

The principal occupations of the settlers of Castle Valley are 
farming and stock raising. Some allied industries, however, such 
as fruit raising and the production of honey, are given considerable 
attention. At Mohrland, the southern terminus of the Castle Valley 
Railroad, in the northern part of T. 16 S., R. 8 E., outside of the area 
examined in 1911, considerable coal is mined from the upper coal¬ 
bearing formation (Mesaverde), to the study of which little atten¬ 
tion was given in this examination. Some coal is mined by the 
ranchers for domestic use east and south of Emery in the lower coal¬ 
bearing rocks, which are fully described in this report. 

ROADS AND TRAILS. 

A very good stage road extends the entire length of Castle Valley 
from Price through Huntington, Castledale, and Ferron to Emery. 
Numerous other first-class and second-class roads and trails make the 
greater part of the area accessible. In general, every main stream 
is paralleled by one or more roads leading into the canyons cut into 
the Wasatch Plateau to the west, where wood and coal are abundant. 
A good road has been constructed from Wellington, on the Denver & 
Rio Grande Railroad, to Huntington through Cleveland. A branch 
of this road connects with the Price-Emery stage road about 4 miles 
south of Price. A second-class road from Castledale follows closely 
the route of the old Spanish Trail across the north end of the San 
Rafael Swell to Green River, the easternmost town in Emery County, 
on Green River, in T. 21 S., R. 16 E. Green River Desert, which lies 
about 40 to 70 miles southeast of Castle Valley, is accessible by means 
of a poor and rarely used road from Ferron through Molen and to 


GEOGRAPHY. 


15 


the southeast. A road from Castledale through Buckhorn Flat and 
along Buckhorn Wash also leads through “ Sinbad ” to the desert. 
From Emery two roads to the east have been constructed. One about 
20 miles in length leads through Rochester and Dry Wash to the 
Globe copper mine. The other extends to the southeast about 18 
miles to a supposed oil field on Salt Wash, 2 miles above its junction 
with Muddy Creek. A wagon trail, very rarely used, connects 
Emery with Caineville, on Fremont River, GO miles to the southeast. 
A fairly good road connects Emery with Fremont and Loa, to the 
south, near the head of Fremont River. Emery is also connected 
with Salina, west of the Wasatch Plateau, by a fair mountain road 
that follows the courses of Ivie, Yogo, and Salina creeks. 

DRAINAGE AND WATER RESOURCES. 

Castle Valley is drained entirely by Price, San Rafael, and Curtis 
rivers and their tributaries, each river receiving about one-third of 
the run-off. The following table gives the average flow, during the 
months when irrigation is necessary, of some of the streams in Castle 
Valley that have been measured by the United States Geological 
Survey, in 1909 1 and 1913. 2 


Partial amount of run-off across Castle Valley during May, June, July, and 

August, .1909 and 1913. 


Stream. 

May. 

June. 

July. 

August. 

1909. 

Price River. 

Second-feet.& 
b 1,030 

Second-feet. 

925 

Second-feet. 

167 

Second-feet. 

146 

Huntington Creek. 

467 

741 

191 

107 

Cottonwood Creek. 

416 

842 

218 

438 

Ferron Creek...... 

146 

372 

27.6 

207 

Muddy Creek. 

146 

245 

109 

(?) 

1913. 

Price River. 

480 

238 

193 

65.0 

Huntington Creek. 

376 

218 

126 

70.9 

Cottonwood Creek.. 

711 

401 

111 

50.5 

Ferron Creek. 

257 

208 

75.2 

27.4 

Muddy Creek. 

169 

132 

80.6 

51.0 


a Second-feet is the number of cubic feet of water passing a given point in a stream channel each second 
b Mean daily run-off. 


This table indicates that the run-off is greatest in most streams 
during June and that in July and August they carry much smaller 
volumes. The irregularities in the run-off for the different streams 
during any month are probably due to local rainstorms. The 
water from the streams in Castle Valley is utilized mainly for irri- 

1 Freeman, W. B., and Bolster, R. H., Surface water supply of the United States, 1909, 
Part IX, Colorado River Basin : U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 269, pp. 77-79, 
81-87, 181-183, 233, 234, 1911. 

2 Follansbee, Robert, Porter, E. A., and Gray, G. A., Surface water supply of the United 
States, 1913, Part IX, Colorado River basin: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 359, 
pp. 70-76, 79-84, 175-177, 1916. 






















16 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

gating the adjacent valley bottoms. In the vicinity of Cleveland, 
however, which lies in the drainage basin of Price River, irrigation 
is made possible by water brought from Huntington Creek over a 
low divide through a canal 15 miles in length. Near Emery a simi¬ 
lar condition exists. The water is taken from Muddy Creek near 
the mouth of the canyon cutting the Wasatch Plateau and is carried 
by a large canal through a divide by means of a tunnel to the flat 
country about Emery. . 

Practically all the water in the streams flowing east from the 
Wasatch Plateau across the area under consideration is now used 
for irrigation with the exception of that in Last Chance Creek. 
Part of the water from this creek is diverted from its natural course 
and carried by ditches to Paradise Lake, in secs. 14 and 23, T. 25 

S. , R. 4 E. 

The irrigated area of Castle Valley may possibly be increased as 
much as 100 per cent by the construction of storage reservoirs to 
hold flood waters and the spring run-off in the deep canyons in the 
Wasatch Plateau. 

The writer knows of few springs of any importance in Castle 
Valley north of Ivie Creek. One of these, on the outcrop of the 
Ferron sandstone member of the Mancos shale in the SW. 1 sec. 24, 

T. 21 S., R. 7 E., furnishes sufficient excellent water for a few head 
of stock the year round. Farther north in Castle Valley there are 
a few small seeps of alkali water issuing from the shale above the 
Ferron sandstone. They are locally known as “ poison springs,” 
owing to the very alkaline character of the water. South of Ivie 
Creek, in the more rugged part of the valley, springs are more numer¬ 
ous and the character of the water is much better. Willow Spring, 
near the center of sec. 13, T. 24 S., R. 5 E., is the best in the southern 
part of the coal field. In the vicinity of Paradise Lake springs are 
plentiful. At the extreme southwest end of the field, in the W. J sec. 
34, T. 25 S., R. 4 E., there is another spring of excellent w T ater. 

Paradise Lake, in the S. \ sec. 14 and N. 4 sec. 23, T. 25 S.. R. 4 E., 
receives part of its water from small mountain streams heading west 
and southwest of the lake, but, as stated above, it is partly supplied 
with water diverted from Last Chance Creek. The lake covers about 
160 acres and has no outlet. However, should the water rise more 
than 32 feet from its level in October, 1912, it would flow through an 
old water gap into a canyon to the southeast. This lake is included 
within the limits of the Hogan ranch, and is used by the owners of 
this property to furnish water for their cattle. 

In places in the area mapped (PI. XII, p. 86) fairly good water 
could be obtained probably by drilling into the Dakota sandstone 
and also into some of the conglomeratic sandstone beds in the under- 




SUBFACE FEATURES. 


17 


lying McElmo formation, as has been done in the vicinity of the 
town of Green River, Utah. 1 

Water may be found in places in the southwestern part of the 
field in stream channels where depressions have been eroded into 
the soft massive sandstone of the Ferron member. In one locality, 
sec. 34, T. 24 S., R. 5 E., a pothole at least 10 feet deep and 3 or 4 
feet in diameter was half full of water in October, 1912. Other 
natural reservoirs of the same type but of smaller dimensions exist 
in this general locality. 

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION. 

The climate of Castle Valley is semiarid, as shown by the annual 
rainfall, 2 which ranges from about 7^ inches at Emery to 84 inches 
at Castledale. The yearly rainfall at Price is greater than either of 
the above measurements indicates and probably is about 11 inches. 
This figure was obtained by averaging the precipitation at Sunny- 
side, where the annual rainfall is 14.86 inches, and at Castledale. 
The temperature in Castle Valley ranges from 104° to —34° F. and 
averages about 45.7° F. 

Vegetation, consisting mainly of a sparse growth of grass, a little 
sagebrush, greasewood, and cactus, is scanty away from stream 
courses where irrigation is not carried on. Pinon is common on 
the sandstone ridges and scarps north of Ivie Creek. South of this 
creek native vegetation is much more abundant. Along many of 
the streams willow and cottonwood trees are plentiful and other 
vegetation is more luxuriant than aw T ay from the streams. Irri¬ 
gated lands produce grain, vegetables, alfalfa, and many kinds of 
fruit. In Castle Valley practically all kinds of fruits common to 
temperate climates with the exception of grapes are raised. 

SURFACE FEATURES. 

GENERAL STATEMENT. 

Castle Valley is bounded on the west by the Wasatch Plateau and 
on the east by the San Rafael Swell. To give an adequate idea of 
the surface of the valley it is necessary to describe, briefly at least, 
the adjacent topographic features. Topographic maps of this 
region with a contour interval of 250 feet were made by the Powell 
Survey. (See San Rafael topographic map of the United States 
Geological Survey.) 

1 Lupton, C. T., Oil and gas near Green River, Grand County, Utah: IT. S. Geol. 
Survey Bull. 541, pp. 117-121, 1914. 

2 Summary of the climatological data for the United States, section 10, Eastern Utah, 
pp. 2-4, U. S. Weather Bureau. 

21246°—Bull. 628—16-2 




18 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

WASATCH PLATEAU. 

The Wasatch Plateau, lying west of Castle Valley, is a southward 
continuation of the kinds of rocks and type of topography embodied 
in the Book Cliffs, which form the prominent scarp extending along 
the north side of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad from Grand 
River, Colo., to Castle Gate, Utah. The Wasatch Plateau ranges from 
2,000 to 3,000 feet in height above the floor of Castle Valley, and at 
many points it is impossible to scale its east face. At only a few 
places can it be traversed with a wagon or buggy. Deep canyons 
have been cut into the plateau by Huntington, Cottonw T ood, Ferron, 
Muddy, Quitchuppah, Ivie, and Last Chance creeks and some of their 
tributaries. Low on the east scarp of the plateau alluvium has been 
washed down into symmetrical fanlike forms, which in many places 
merge with one another, thus forming compound alluvial fans.- Rem¬ 
nants of alluvial fans of former stages of erosion are numerous higher 
on the east flank of the plateau. These remnants have been rather 
fully dissected by minor intermittent streams. 

The Book Cliffs consist of almost flat-lying beds of sandstone and 
shale and rise 3,000 to 4,000 feet above the adjacent country. Wher¬ 
ever erosion has removed the overlying sandstone the shale, being 
less resistant than the sandstone, has yielded readily to erosion, pro¬ 
ducing nearly sheer cliffs instead of gentle slopes. 

CASTLE VALLEY. 

Castle Valley is literally a monoclinal valley and owes its existence 
to the presence of a soft, relatively homogeneous shale which is easily 
eroded wherever the overlying sandstone is removed. The valley is 
80 miles or more in length, and all of it is included within the area 
mapped except that part in Carbon County north of the Denver & 
Rio Grande Railroad. The topography of Castle Valley north of Ivie 
Creek is characterized mainly by gentle slopes, which develop into 
bad lands near the Wasatch Plateau and in the vicinity of stream 
courses. South of Ivie Creek the topography is more rugged, owing to 
the extensive mantle of gravel and bowlders derived from the basalt- 
covered area to the southwest. The gravel and bowlders have very 
noticeably protected the underlying shale from erosion, and the re¬ 
sulting topographic forms are entirely different from the forms north 
of Ivie Creek. Along the east side of Castle Valley parallel cliffs simi¬ 
lar to the east face of the Wasatch Plateau above described are de¬ 
veloped by : the erosion of strata of unequal resistance. In passing 
from the Wasatch Plateau across Castle Valley into the San Rafael 
Swell one descends stratigraphically several thousand feet. A view 
westward from the interior of the Swell gives the impression of look¬ 
ing up a very gently inclined varicolored stairway, the steps of which 
increase in height toward the top, represented by the Wasatch Plateau. 


GEOLOGY. 


19 


Castle Valley ranges in altitude from 5,300 feet on Price River, at the 
north end of the valley, to 8,550 feet in the vicinity of the Hogan 
ranch, near its south end. 

The boundary separating the San Rafael Swell from Castle Valley, 
arbitrarily adopted by the writer, roughly follows the western limit 
of the irregular rows of buttes, mesas, and “ castles ” that form the 
western boundary of “ Sinbad.” The buttes and “ castles ” here re¬ 
ferred to are conspicuously shown on the United States Geological 
Survey’s San Rafael topographic sheet. 

SAN RAFAEL SWELL. 

The most prominent feature of the topography of the San Rafael 
Swell is a series of odd-shaped sandstone forms which encircle an 
area in the heart of the Swell, locally known as “ Sinbad,” which is 
40 to 50 miles long and 10 to 20 miles wide. These fantastically 
eroded forms are remnants of the outcrop of a massive cross-bedded 
gray Jurassic sandstone about 800 feet thick. It is practicable to 
cross the Swell at only a few places on account of the almost im¬ 
passable barrier formed by this sandstone rim. Nearly vertical 
scarps and canyon walls 300 to 500 feet in height are common. Low 
hogbacks formed by resistant beds in the strata overlying this sand¬ 
stone, the upper surfaces of which produce dip slopes of varying 
extent, depending on the inclination of the beds, encircle this belt of 
rugged topography. Badlands are common, especially near stream 
courses. 

GEOLOGY. 

STRATIGRAPHY. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

During the investigation in Castle Valley reconnaissance excur¬ 
sions were made to the Wasatch Plateau and the interior of the San 
Rafael Swell, 1 enabling the writer to discuss in a general way the 
stratigraphy from the lowest rocks (Triassic and Permian) studied 
in the Swell to the highest (Green River?) capping the Wasatch 
Plateau. Throughout the greater part of Castle Valley the upper 
part of the McElmo formation, the Dakota sandstone, and the 
greater part of the Mancos shale were carefully mapped. All other 
formations described were examined, some in detail, as shown by 
the compiled stratigraphic section, and others in a general way, as 
indicated in the descriptions below. Numerous fossil collections 
were made, and the reports of the determinations of these collec¬ 
tions are presented in the descriptions of the several formations. 

1 Lupton, C. T., Notes on the geology of the San Rafael Swell, Utah: Washington 
Acad. Sci. Jour., vol. 2, No. 7, pp. 185-188, 1912. 




20 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 


The following summarized description of the Triassic and younger 
strata is given in tabular form for convenient reference and direct 
comparison: 

Rock formations outcropping across Castle Valley from the interior of San Rafael 

Swell to the top of Wasatch Plateau, Utah. 


System and 
series. 

Formation. 

Description of strata. 

Thickness. 

Economic value. 

Quater nary 
(Recent). 


An extensive mantle of soil, low 
gravel-capped terraces, and low 
broad compound alluvial fans. 

0—50-f- foot* 


Quaternary ? 
(Pleistocene ?) 

Unconformity. 

Green River 
(?) formation. 

Remnants of alluvial fans high up 
on the east face of Wasatch Pla¬ 
teau and lower table-lands. 

High terrace gravel with pebbles 
up to 1 foot in diameter. 

Gravel of both divisions of the 
Pleistocene (?) consists of yellow¬ 
ish-gray sandstone, gray and 
drab limestone, quartzitic sand¬ 
stone, and black chert north of 
Ivie Creek and principally of 
dark basalt south of that creek. 

0-50 feet. 

0-40 feet. 

Small springs issue 
from these beds. 


Mainly grayish-drab fine-grained 
calcareous sandstone and sandy 
shale, which weather white and 
outcrop in cliffs. 

Not determin¬ 
ed, probably 
about 800 
feet. 

Oil shale reported. 

Tertiary (Eo¬ 
cene). 

Wasatch for¬ 
mation. 

Unconformity, 

Mesaverde for¬ 
mation. 

Beds not well exposed but wher- 
everobserved, mainlysandstone, 
and sandy shale of various colors, 
red, yellow, and drab predomi¬ 
nating. The outcrop of this for¬ 
mation forms smooth topog¬ 
raphy. 

Not determin¬ 
ed, probably 
about 1,000 
feet. 

Water bearing and 
is known to carry 
thin beds of coal 
near Colton and 
Wales,Utah. 


Mainly beds of massive and. me¬ 
dium-bedded sandstone with 
some sandy shale, all of a yellow¬ 
ish-gray color. Several coal beds 
are known to be present near the 
middle of the formation. None 
are known in the lower part of 
the formation up to a horizon 200 
or 300 feet above the base. The 
lower part contains more shale 
than the upper. 

About 1,200 
feet, pos¬ 
sibly more. 

Commonly in¬ 
cludes several 
thick beds of 
good bituminous 
coal. 



Yellow to bluish-drab sandy shale. 
Upper part very sandy, contain¬ 
ing Deas and lenses of sandstone. 
Middle and lower parts but 
slightly sandy. 

About 3,000 
feet. 


Cretaceous 

(UpperCreta- 

ceous). 

Mancos shale. 

Ferron sandstone member. Alter¬ 
nating beds of sandstone and 
sandy shale with several coal 
beds present in the vicinity of 
Emery. At Mounds this mem¬ 
ber is represented by about 75 
feet of sandy material which 
generally contains a concretion¬ 
ary zone near the middle. 

Varies from 75 
feetnear 
Mounds to 
about 800 
feet on Last 
Chance 
Creek. 

Several beds of 
good bituminous 
coal at the south 
end of Castle 
Valley. 



Bluisb-drab sandy shale. Sandy 
material most plentiful near base 
and top of this part of formation. 

About 600 

feet. 



Dakota sand¬ 
stone. 

Probable un- 

Yellowish-gray sandstone with 
thin beds of shale, alternating. 
Sandstone coarse, soft, and in 
places very conglomeratic. 
Near the north end of Castle 
Valley the formation is mainly 
conglomerate. The lower part 
grades into sandy shale. 

60 to 100 feet 
and possibly 
more. 

A little coal of no 
importance in 
Castle Valley. 
















































GEOLOGY. 


21 


Rock formations outcropping across Castle Valley, etc. —Continued. 


System and 
series. 

Formation. 

Description of strata. 

Thickness. 

Economic value. 

Jurassic (?). 

Jurassic. 

McElmo for¬ 
mation. 

Variegated sandstone and sandy 
shale. The upper 500 feet prin¬ 
cipally gray and containing some 
conglomerate whose pebbles are 
in places 3 inches in diameter. 
About 800 feet above the base is 
a gray to white sandstone about 
200 feet thick which probably 
corresponds to the Salt Wash 
sandstone member.® The lower 
800 feet of beds are mainly red in 
color. About 200 feet above the 
base is a prominent gypsum hori¬ 
zon in which 40 feet of very pure 
gypsum is exposed. Another 
gypsum bed 10+ feet thick is 
exposed about 700 feet below the 
top of the formation. 

About 1,850 
feet. 

Two or three gyp¬ 
sum beds of im¬ 
portance. 

Manganese south¬ 
east of Castle- 
dale. 

La Plata sand¬ 
stone. 

Probable un¬ 
conformity. 

V ermilion 
Cliff sand¬ 
stone. 

Highly cross-bedded coarse gray 
sandstone, weathering into odd¬ 
shaped buttes, mesas, and “cas¬ 
tles.” A shaly bed near the 
middle of the formation is pres¬ 
ent in places. 

Not measured, 
estimated at 
800 feet. 

A little copper and 
some asphaltum- 
saturated sand¬ 
stone; also locally 
water bearing. 

Triassic. 

Mainly varicolored sandstone and 
sandy shale. In places conglom¬ 
eratic near the top. About 200 
feet below the top asphaltum 
seeps were noted at a few places. 

Full thickness 
not deter¬ 
mined: about 
500 feet was 
examined. 

Asphaltum. Some 
thin lenses of 
relatively pure 
alum (sodium 
variety). 

Carboniferous 
(Permian) 
and Triassic. 


Gray medium-bedded sandstone 
exposed in the drainage basin of 
Mexican Spring Wash in 
“Sinbad.” 

800+ feet ex¬ 
posed (ac¬ 
cording to 
Forrester’s 
unpublished 
notes). 

Sulphur springs 
and deposits on 
San Rafael River 
at east side of 
Swell. 


“Lupton, C. T., Oil and gas near Green River, Grand County, Utah: U. S. Geol. Survey Bui. 541, 
p. 127, 1914. 


CARBONIFEROUS (PERMIAN) AND TRIASSIC ROCKS. 

It is believed that rocks of Permian and Triassic age older than 
the Vermilion Cliff sandstone are exposed on one of the southern 
tributaries of San Rafael River, near the west side of “ Sinbad,” 
1 mile or more west of a prominent butte locally known as The 
Wickiup and about 1 mile east of Mexican Spring Wash. The 
sulphur deposit on San Rafael River, approximately in the north- 
central part of T. 21 S., R. 13 E., described by Hess 1 and visited 
by the writer, is situated stratigraphically a few hundred feet below 
the top of these rocks. 

Robert Forrester in unpublished notes reports about 800 feet of 
Carboniferous beds exposed along San Rafael River near the Black 
Box, below Lockhart’s cabin. These beds are lower than any exam¬ 
ined by the writer. Fossils found by Forrester at this locality and 
identified by G. H. Girty are listed below. 


1 Hess, F. L„ A sulphur deposit in the San Rafael Canyon, Utah : U. S. Geol. Survey 
Bull. 530, pp. 347-349, 1913. 




























22 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 


The first eight in the list came from a stratum 30 feet below the 
one in which the remainder were found. Mr. Girty states that these 
fossils are characteristic of the u Bellerophon limestone ” or top 
of the Aubrey group. 

Allorisma capax. 

Sedgwickia sp. 

Myalina aff. M. congeneris. 

Schizodus? sp. 

Aviculipecten coloradoensis ? 

Pleurotomaria ? sp. 

Macrocheilina? sp. 

Orthoceras? sp. 

Sponge. 

Lioclema? sp. 

Composita mexicana? 

Solenomya? sp. 

Edmondia gibbosa? 

Sanguinolites?? sp. a. 

Sanguinolites?? sp. b. 

TRIASSIC SYSTEM. 

VERMILION CLIFF SANDSTONE. 

The base of the Vermilion Cliff sandstone was not determined, 
and the section given below represents careful estimates rather than 
accurate measurements of the thickness of the strata. The forma¬ 
tion is prevailingly sandy and red. The lower part consists of thin 
to medium bedded sandstone and sandy shale which is yellowish gray 
below but changes to red in its upper part. Overlying this series is 
a grayish-brown coarse-grained sandstone about 90 feet thick, which 
in places is conglomeratic. At several localities asphaltum seeps 
and springs exist near the base of this bed. About 100 feet of vari¬ 
colored sandy and conglomeratic material overlies this sandstone. 
The presence of a conglomerate near the top of this formation sug¬ 
gests an unconformity, but the evidence on this point is not conclu¬ 
sive, as no fossils were collected in the Vermilion Cliff or the over- 
lying La Plata sandstone. 

Section of part of Vermilion Cliff sandstone near west side of “Sinbad,” in the 


San Rafael Sivell. 

[Thickness estimated.] 

Top. Feet. 

Sandstone, red, maroon, purple, and gray, with beds of thin 

conglomerate and sandy shale of similar colors_100 

Sandstone, grayish brown, in places conglomeratic (horizon of 
asphaltum seeps and springs near base of this sandstone) 90 
Sandstone and sandy shale, red in upper part, yellow and 
gray in lower part, thin to medium bedded_300 


Leda obesa. 

Nucula levatiformis. 

Mytilus? sp. 

Pleurophorus? sp. 

Astarte? sp. 

Plagioglypta canna. 

Dentalium mexicanum. 

Eu phem u s sub papillosus. 
Patellostium aff. P. nodicostatum. 
Bellerophon sp. 1. 

Bellerophon sp. 2. 

Warthia? sp. 

Coloceras n. sp. 

Gastrioceras sp. 

Ammonoid ? ? 



490 






GEOLOGY. 


23 


JURASSIC SYSTEM. 

LA PLATA SANDSTONE. 

The La Plata sandstone consists of a highly cross-bedded coarse¬ 
grained, very massive gray sandstone, but near the middle of the 
formation there is in places some shale, which, however, is not per¬ 
sistent. Careful estimates place the total thickness of this sandstone 
at about 800 feet along the west flank of the San Rafael Swell, where 
its outcrop has been eroded into prominent scarps, “ castles,” buttes, 
and mesas, from which Castle Valley probably takes its name. This 
sandstone is in all probability the same as the White Cliff sandstone 
of the eastern Uinta and southern Utah sections of Powell, 1 and 
corresponds to the La Plata sandstone of Cross. 2 This correlation is 
based solely on its stratigraphic position and physical characteristics, 
as no fossils were collected from it. 

JURASSIC (?) SYSTEM. 

McELMO FORMATION. 

The McElmo formation, which is thicker in this locality than at 
any of the places in eastern Utah and southwestern Colorado, 
where it has been measured/consists of 1,800 to 1,900 feet of vari¬ 
colored conglomeratic sandstone and sandy shale, with two or more 
gypsum beds 3 that form but a small part of the whole thickness. 
The lower 800 feet is composed mainly of sandstone and sandy 
shale, with gypsum-bearing beds about 200 feet above the base. 
The upper 400 feet of this part of the formation is mainly red 
and massive. Overlying this is a gray to white sandy series about 
200 feet thick containing a thin stratum of conglomerate at the 
base. This portion is believed to be equivalent to the Salt Wash 
sandstone member 4 in the vicinity of Green River, Utah. Variegated 
sandstone and sandy shale, interbedded, and about 36 feet of gyp¬ 
sum, included in three benches, make up the overlying 350 feet of 
strata. The top of this 350-foot series probably coincides with the 
top of the Flaming Gorge formation as defined by Powell. 5 Gale, 6 
however, in northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah draws 
the contact between the Flaming Gorge formation and the Dakota 

1 Powell, J. W., Report on the geology of the eastern portion of the Uinta Mountains 
and a region of country adjacent thereto, pp. 52, 53, 152, U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey 
Terr., 1876. 

2 Cross, Whitman, and Purington, C. W., U. S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Telluride folio 
(No. 57), p. 3, 1899. 

3 Lupton, C. T., Gypsum along the west flank of the San Rafael Swell, Utah : U. S. Geol. 
Survey Bull. 530, pp. 221-231, 1913. 

4 Lupton, C. T., Oil and gas near Green River, Grand County, Utah : U. S. Geol. Survey 
Bull. 541, pp. 124, 126, 127, 1914. 

B Powell, J. W., op. cit., pp. 152, 157. 

6 Gale, II. S., Coal fields of northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah : U. S. Geol. 
Survey Bull. 415, p. 54, 1910. 




24 GEOLOGY AXD COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 


sandstone about 500 feet stratigraphically higher, a determination 
that includes within the Flaming Gorge about 500 feet more of strata 
than Powell included in it. This 500 feet consists of sandstone, 
sand}^ shale, and conglomerate of a greenisli-drab color and ap¬ 
parently corresponds to part of the Henrys Fork group as defined 
by Powell and as identified by Gilbert 1 in the Henry Mountains. 
In places the colors change to red, maroon, and blue. Considerable 
conglomerate occurs near the base. In Castle Valley the conditions 
apparently are similar to those described by Gale, and the positions 
of the geologic boundaries are similarly located. The McElmo for¬ 
mation as recognized in this field is believed to include not only the - 
McElmo formation described by Cross 2 as occurring in southwestern 
Colorado, where it is considered the equivalent of the Morrison for¬ 
mation, but also a series of marine beds that probably represent a 
part at least of the Sundance formation. Fossils collected near the 
south side of sec. 10, T. 21 S., R. 9 E., on the east side of Coal Wash, 
about a mile slightly east of south from Dripping Spring, within 
10 feet of the base of the formation were identified by T. W. Stanton 
as belonging to a marine Jurassic fauna. Plate II, A , shows the 
strata in which the fossils were collected and also the contact of the 
McElmo formation and the La Plata sandstone. The names of the 
species are as follows: 


Ostrea strigilecula White. 
Plicatula sp. 

Camptonectes stygius White. 
Camptonectes sp. 


Modiola subimbricata Meek. 
Trigonia sp. 

Cyprina? sp. 


As the McElmo formation in its type area is not known to include 
any marine strata, it is possible that the bed containing this fauna 
is older than the basal beds of the typical McElmo. 

The following section was measured principally in Colt Gulch, 
10 to 12 miles east of Emery, and is given in detail, except those 
parts near the base numbered 32 and 33: 


Section of rocks of McElmo formation measured on the west flank of San 
Rafael Swell and the east side of Castle Valley. 

Top. 

1. Clay shale, gray to green, sandy, contains calcareous 
nodules; becomes more sandy and greenish near 


Ft. 

i 

in. 

i 

140 

0 

40-+* * 

11 

4 

13 

i 

2 

L 

10 

0 


5. Sandstone, gray; weathers brown; medium grained 


1 Gilbert, G. K., Report on the geology of the Henry Mountains, pp. 4, 5 U S Geo" 
and Geol. Survey Rocky Mtn. Region, 1877. 

* Cr ° S f> Whitman, and Purington, C. W., U. S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Telluride folio 
(No. 57), p. 3, 1899. 









U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN 628 PLATE II 



A. CONTACT OF McELMO FORMATION AND LA PLATA SANDSTONE ON 
THE WEST FLANK OF THE SAN RAFAEL SWELL. 


1, McElmo formation; 2, contact between McElmo and La Plata; 3, La Plata 

sandstone. 












GEOLOGY. 


25 


Section of rocks of McElmo formation measured on the west flank of San 


Rafael Sivell, etc. —Continued. 

Ft. in. 

6. Shale, gray, sandy_ 17 8 

7. Sandstone, medium bedded; contains some shale; 

conglomeratic at top_ 11 6 

8. Shale, sandy, variegated; contains thin beds of gray 

to brown sandstone; calcareous in places; genera] 
color brown_ 207 0 

9. Conglomerate, gray; contains black chert and lime¬ 

stone pebbles, the largest 3 or 4 inches in diam¬ 
eter ; contains bones, unidentified_ 15 6 

10. Clay shale, gray, red, and white, with some sand¬ 

stone and cone-in-cone concretion-like material 
alternating_ 48 0 

11. Conglomerate, gray; contains black chert and lime¬ 

stone pebbles 3 inches or less in diameter; also 
some soft, friable sandstone_ 8± 

12. Sandstone, gray (probably top of Flaming Gorge 

formation as defined by Powell)_ 4 0 

13. Gypsum, sandy, red, gray, and white_ 16 6 

14. Gypsum, pink, impure; very shaly at base, very 

pure at top; contains cherty concretions_ 22 0 

15. Shale, salmon-red and in places greenish gray_ 10 4 

* 16. Gypsum, almost pure_ 10 0 

17. Shale, red, sandy_ 1 3 

18. Gypsum, somewhat impure_ 4± 

19. Clay, salmon-red, sandy_ 11 0 

20. Sandstone, greenish gray, and red sandy shale alter¬ 

nating _ 20 8 

21. Sandstone, red, argillaceous_ 5 0 

22. Sandstone, gray, weathers brown, rather thin bedded 6 0 

23. Sandstone and sandy shale, salmon-red, thin bedded; 

contains one or two lenses of calcareous sand¬ 
stone 2 feet thick near top (within 25 feet) ; also 
a stratum of gypsum 6 to 8 inches thick near top_ 167 0 

24. Sandstone, white, fine grained, ledge maker_ 5 

25. Sandstone and sandy shale, chocolate-red in color; 

contains some tliin-bedded sandstone near top ; thin 
streaks of green sandy clay occur in this material. 57 0 


857 4± 

26. Shale, greenish gray, slightly pinkish at top, sandy. 50± 

27. Sandstone, gray, thin bedded, shaly- 45 0 

28. Sandstone, massive, gray to white, friable_ 100± 

29. Sandstone, grayish green, shaly, thin bedded_ 18 0 

30. Conglomerate; contains black chert and quartz peb¬ 

bles up to 4 inches in diameter_ 5 


1 213 5± 

31. Sandstone, greenish gray to white, shaly- 3 0 

32. Sandstone, red, massive, thin bedded- 400± 


1 This part of the section (Nos. 26 to 30, inclusive) probably corresponds to the Salt 
Wash sandstone member of the Green River region. See U. S. Survey Bull. 541, p. 127, 
1914. 
































26 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

Section of rocks of McElmo formation measured on the west flank of San Rafael 

Swell, etc. —Continued. 

33. Sandstone, calcareous, gray in places, slightly green, 

thin bedded_ 

34. Gypsum, relatively pure- 

35. Sandstone, red; contains many veins of gypsum- 

36. Gypsum, very pure- 

37. Sandstone, red- 

38. Sandstone, greenish gray, thin bedded- 

39. Shale and sandstone, red, thin bedded- 

40. Sandstone, yellowish brown, thin bedded- 

41. Sandstone, yellowish brown, massive--- 

42. Sandstone, yellowish buff and maroon, thin bedded 

(fossils named on p. 24 collected near base of 
this stratum)_ 

773 0 
1,843 9± 

CRETACEOUS SYSTEM. 

DAKOTA SANDSTONE. 

The Dakota sandstone is well exposed throughout the length of 
Castle Valley except for about 1 mile in secs. 14, 22, 23, and 27, 
T. 20 S., R. 8 E., 3 to 4 miles south of Ferron Creek. It has been 
definitely correlated with the Dakota sandstone as mapped by Rich¬ 
ardson 1 near Mounds, in the Book Cliffs coal field. This formation 
was traced continuously from Mounds to Ivie Creek, a distance of 
about 60 miles, but south of Ivie Creek the mapping of the Dakota 
is only approximate. This formation also crops out in small isolated 
areas near Farnham, both north and south of the Denver & Rio 
Grande Railroad. 

The Dakota consists mostly of grayish-buff sandstone, but in places 
is composed of interbedded sandstone, sandy shale, and conglomerate 
of the same color, in varying proportions. Cross-bedding is common, 
suggesting that the material was deposited in shallow water where 
currents continuously reworked it. In many places local uncon¬ 
formities occur within the formation. An exposure near the center 
of sec. 36, T. 19 S., R. 8 E., on a small northern tributary of Ferron 
Creek, shows that a part of the gray massive sandstone has been 
replaced by dark-brown cross-bedded sandstone. The line separating 
the two kinds of sandstone is very distinct. This phenomenon sug¬ 
gests that at one time an erosion channel was cut into the gray sand¬ 
stone, and that later the cut was filled by sand of a different color. 

1 Richardson, G. B., Reconnaissance of the Book Cliffs coal field, between Grand River, 
Colo., and Sunnyside, Utah : U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 371, pp. 12-14, pi. 3, 1909. 


Ft. in. 

200 ± 
30+ 

10 0 
7 0 
5 0 
60 0 
18 0 
15 0 
10 0 


15 0 















GEOLOGY. 


27 


Plate II, B , is a view of this local unconformity. A thin coal bed 
of no economic importance is present in places near the top of the 
formation. A full description of this coal is given on pages 74—76. 
Sections of the Dakota sandstone were measured at several points 
along the east side of Castle Valley and are given below to show its 
variation in character and thickness. 


Section of Dakota sandstone measured in T. 16 S., R. 11 E., 3 miles southwest 

of Mounds. 

Feet. 

Sandstone, gray and yellow, cross-bedded, conglomeratic_ 7 

Conglomerate; pebbles as large as 3 inches in diameter_ 2 

Covered (probably gray argillaceous sandstone)_ 28 

Sandstone, gray; weathers brown; massive; argillaceous 

in places_ 10 

Sandstone, gray; weathers brown in places; somewhat con¬ 
glomeratic ; pebbles chiefly of gray clayey material_ 12 

Covered_ 8 

Sandstone, gray ; weathers brown; massive, fine grained_ 8 

75 

The material directly underlying the Dakota at this place consists 
r of “ lumpy ” light, porous, cellular white clay. A section measured 
on Huntington Creek, about 25 miles southwest of this locality, 
shows the formation much thinner and considerably different in 
character: 

Section of Dakota sandstone measured on Huntington Creek in sec. If, T. 19 S., 

R. 9 E., about 5 miles east of Castledale. 

Ft. In. 

Sandstone, yellowish gray, somewhat friable, partly thin 

bedded and partly cross-bedded_._ 22 0 

Clay shale, yellowish gray_ 1 6 

Sandstone, brownish yellow, fine grained, argillaceous- 3 6 

27 0 


The rocks directly underlying the Dakota sandstone at this locality 
consist of 300 to 500 feet of maroon to drab sandy shale, sandstone, 
and conglomerate. The beds of conglomerate, which occur near the 
base of the series, are in places calcareous and undoubtedly should 
be included within the McElmo formation, but their physical charac¬ 
ter in other places suggests a similarity to the Dakota. 

Two or three miles southwest of the above-mentioned locality an¬ 
other exposure, on the south bank of Cottonwood Creek near the 
center of sec. 17, T. 19 S., R. 9 E., shows that the rocks have changed 
considerably in character and that a carbonaceous bed occurs at the 
top of the formation. 













28 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 


Section of Dakota sandstone measured on Cottonwood Creek in sec. 17, T. 19 
R. 9 E., about 5 miles southeast of Castledale. 


Feet. 


S 


•9 


Sandstone, yellow, saccharoidal; contains small iron con¬ 


cretions ; lower part slightly conglomeratic- 11 6 

Sandstone, massive, yellow and brown, conglomeratic near 

base_ 24 0 


35 6 

The carbonaceous beds are not persistent and may occupy any 
position in the formation. In one place near this location carbona¬ 
ceous material rests on the shale underlying the Dakota sandstone. 

The formation is thicker toward the southwest, as shown by the 
following section measured near Horn Silver Gulch in sec. 9, T. 21 S., 
R. 8 E., about 8 miles southeast of Ferron: 


Section of the Dakota sandstone measured in sec. 9, 

miles southeast of Ferron. 


T. 21 S., R. 8 E., about 8 


Ft. in. 


Sandstone, yellow, saccharoidal; contains small iron con¬ 


cretions ; lower part slightly conglomeratic_ 11 6 

Sandstone, massive, yellow and brown, conglomeratic near 
base_ 24 0 


35 6 

The formation at this locality contains many spherical iron con¬ 
cretions. The upper part of the sandstone seems to be distinct from 
the underlying and more massive part, which weathers into large 
cubic blocks. A fine-grained thin yellow “ clay-ball" conglomerate 
separates the two parts. Directly underlying the sandstone, uncon- 
formably at this place, are beds of shale and sandstone several feet 
thick containing fragmentary fossil leaves that could not be identi¬ 
fied. This section is as follows: 


Section of rocks underlying the Dakota sandstone in sec. 9, T. 21 S., R. 8 E. 

Ft. in. 


Shale, bluish gray_ 1 3 

Sandstone, brownish gray, cross-bedded, somewhat car¬ 
bonaceous_ 2 0 

Clay shale, bluish gray; contains leaves of several species 

(unidentified)_ 8 

Shale, sandy, coarse grained, conglomeratic_ 1 0 

Shale, drab_ 3 

Clay, white, calcareous, lenticular_ 2 

Shale, drab, with yellow iron concretions_ 1 0 

Shale, sandy, bluish_ 3 

Shale, sandy, drab, yellow, and gray_ 1 6 


8 1 

It is possible that these rocks should be included in the Dakota 
sandstone. 


















GEOLOGY. 


29 


About 5 miles southeast of Rochester, on the north side of Dry 
Wash, in the E. \ sec. 36, T. 21 S., R. 7 E., the Dakota sandstone is 
much thicker and contains more conglomerate than is shown by any 
other section measured in this part of Castle Valley. 

Section of Dakota sandstone measured in the E. £ sec. 36, T. 21 S., R. 7 E. 


Conglomerate, consisting mainly of quartz and black chert Feet. 

pebbles, 2 or 3 inches in diameter_ 1± 

Sandstone, yellowish gray, soft, thin bedded_ 6 

Sandstone, yellowish gray, soft, mainly thin bedded; cross- 
bedded in places; contains a few iron concretions stained 

yellow and brown_ 184- 

Clay shale, gray, yellow, and red__ 34- 

Sandstone, grayish yellow, indurated, massive, coarse¬ 
grained, conglomeratic in places_ 26 

Clay shale, yellowish gray, gypsiferous_ 2 


564- 


About 5 miles southwest of the point where this section was meas¬ 
ured thin lenses of coal occur in the top of the Dakota sandstone. 
(See locations 418, 419, and 420 on PL XII, and p. 75.) 

Another section was measured about 12 miles southeast of Emery 
and is given below. 

Section of Dakota sandstone measured about 12 miles southeast of Emery, 3 
miles south of Ivie Creek, near the west side of sec. 36, T. 23 S., R. 6 E. 

Ft. in. 

Sandstone, gray, brown wherever weathered, massive, and 
thin bedded; iron stained in places; contains a thin 


lens of shaly coal at base__ 36 0 

Sandstone, yellowish brown; small clay balls form a thin 
bed of conglomerate at base_ 3 6 


39 6 

A section of the Dakota sandstone measured near the south end of 
the field shows the formation to be somewhat thicker than in the 
vicinity of Ivie Creek, where the preceding section was measured. 
The character and thickness of the rocks in the Dakota sandstone at 
the south end of the coal field are given below. 

Section of the Dakota sandstone measured in SE. ^ sec. 25, T. 25 S., R. If E. 

Ft. in. 


Sandstone and bluish sandy shale alternating- 30 0 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous (see location 421 on p. 76)- 1 0 

Coal, impure_ 8 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous- 8 

Sandstone (?), poorly exposed- 12 0 

Sandstone, white_ 2 6 

Coal, rusty, probably impure- 3 

Sandstone and sandy shale, poorly exposed- 12 0 

Shale, coaly, very carbonaceous- 8 


59 9 






















30 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 


The Dakota sandstone is exceedingly variable in thickness and 
character, as is shown by the sections given above. Weathering un¬ 
doubtedly accounts for some of its variation in color. The only 
fossils collected in this formation were the fragmentary leaves men¬ 
tioned on page 28. At many places in Castle Valley evidences of an 
unconformity were noted at the base of the formation. This may 
only be apparent, however, because local unconformities as extensive 
as that which occurs at its base are present within the sandstone 
itself. 

MANCOS SHALE. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

The Mancos shale in Castle Valley consists of three natural sub¬ 
divisions. The lowest, about 600 feet thick, is described in this re¬ 
port as “ Shale below the Ferron sandstone member.” Conformably 
overlying this shale is the Ferron sandstone member, which contains 
the coal in the southern part of Castle Valley. This member in¬ 
creases in thickness from about 75 feet at the north end of Castle 
Valley to about 800 feet at its south end. The highest subdivision 
is described in this report as “ Shale above the Ferron sandstone 
member.” It rests conformably on the Ferron sandstone and is about 
3,000 feet thick in the vicinity of Emery. At the south end of the 
field it is impossible to determine its exact thickness on account of 
extensive faulting. 

SHALE - BELOW THE FERRON SANDSTONE MEMBER. 

That part of the Mancos shale underlying the Ferron sandstone 
member (“shale of the San Rafael Swell' 1 of Taff’s classification) 
consists of about 600 feet of bluish-drab shale, which is rather 
sandy in its lower and upper parts. It probably corresponds to 
the Blue Gate shale and possibly includes the Tununk sandstone 
and the Tununk shale, as described by Gilbert 1 in his report on the 
Henry Mountains. Five collections of fossils were obtained in this 
part of the Mancos shale. All the species except one are definitely 
Cretaceous forms and characteristic of the lower part of the Mancos 
shale or basal Colorado. The species, identified by T. W. Stanton, 
are listed below: 

Prionotropis sp. 

Anomia sp. 

Inoceramus n. sp., related to I. fragilis 

Hall and Meek. 

Cardium sp. 

Lucina sp. 


1 Gilbert, G. K., Report on the geology of the Henry Mountains, pp. 4, 5, U. S. Geog. 
and Geol. Survey Rocky Mtn. Region, 1877. 


Mactra sp. 

Corbula sp. 

Astarte? sp. 

Ostrea sp. 

Gastropod casts of two or more unde¬ 
termined genera. 







U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN 628 PLATE III 



A. FERRON SANDSTONE MEMBER OF THE MANCOS SHALE SOUTHEAST OF EMERY. 



B. LOCAL UNCONFORMITY IN THE FERRON SANDSTONE MEMBER OF THE MANCOS SHALE 

ABOUT 10 MILES SOUTH OF EMERY. 











GEOLOGY. 


31 


The greater part of this subdivision of the formation, together 
with a portion of the Ferron sandstone member, constitutes a “ riser ” 
or cliff, in some places 600 feet high, whereas the upper surface of 
the resistant overlying Ferron sandstone forms a “step” in the 
topography. Plate III, A , shows that part of the Mancos shale above 
discussed and also the lower part of the Ferron member. This shale 
weathers into bad lands along the base of the scarp. 

FERRON SANDSTONE MEMBER. 

The Ferron sandstone member of the Mancos shale is well de¬ 
veloped in the vicinity of Ferron and Emery and rests conformably 
upon the shale above described. It crops out in the upper part of a 
prominent scarp which ranges from 80 to 1,000 feet in height. This 
member becomes thicker from a point near Mounds, where it is about 
75 feet thick, to Last Chance Creek, 70 miles southwest, where it is 
about 800 feet thick. Local unconformities occur within the Ferron 
sandstone, as illustrated by Plate III, B. A section measured on 
Last Chance Creek shows this coal-bearing sandstone portion of 
the Mancos to be more than 800 feet thick. Eight stratigraphic sec¬ 
tions on Plate IV show the gradual increase in thickness of the for¬ 
mation toward the southwest. Concretionary beds near the base of 
the Ferron sandstone extend from Mounds to Ivie Creek, but south 
of that stream concretions are not so conspicuous. In some places 
these spherical concretions are much more abundant than in others, 
being very large and numerous north of Ferron Creek. Plate V 
shows a typical exposure of these concretions in the vicinity of Castle- 
dale. The Ferron member of the Mancos shale in the Emery field 
carries the principal coal beds, all of which lie above the concre¬ 
tionary horizon above described. This coal, however, is of little 
value north of an east-west line through Emery. Carbonaceous ma¬ 
terial occurs in this sandstone for several miles north of the place 
(south side of T. 21 S., R. 7 E.) where the first coal of economic 
importance crops out. 

Fossils were collected from the lower part of the Mancos shale 
and were identified by T. W. Stanton, who considered them indica¬ 
tive of “brackish-water fauna, probably of Colorado age.” The 
fossils from the Ferron sandstone member do not conclusively prove 
its age, but as the fossils collected stratigraphically above and below 
it are definitely of Mancos age, there can be no doubt that the Ferron 
sandstone is also Mancos. The fossils collected on Ivie Creek about 
50 feet above the base of the Ferron member, in sec. 17. T. 23 S., 
R. 6 E., about 8 miles south of Emery, are given below. 

Ostrea sp. Turritella? sp. 

Corbicula sp., related to C. durkeei Corbula sp. 

Meek. 



32 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

The Ferron member corresponds lithologically and stratigraphi- 
cally to the Blue Gate sandstone in the Henry Mountains, described 
by Gilbert. 1 The following section of the Ferron sandstone was 
measured on Ivie Creek in the north half of T. 23 S., R. 6 E., and 
shows the thickness and distribution of the coals in that locality: 

Section of Ferron sandstone member of Mancos shale on Ivie Greek 8 miles 

south of Emery. 

Ft. in. 

Sandstone, gray; weathers yellowish brown; massive; 
contains more or less persistent layers of gray to 
black shale, some of which is carbonaceous. The 
upper 40 feet of this massive sandstone in places 
changes very abruptly into a slightly sandy carbo¬ 
naceous shale_150 ± 

Bed J, location 206: 

Coal___ 1 2 

Shale, black, carbonaceous, sandy_„_ 9 

Coal_ 1 2 

Shale, black, carbonaceous, grading upward into drab 

sandy shale_ 11 0 

Bed I, location 190: Coal, weathered. This bed 
changes abruptly into a carbonaceous shale a short 

distance from the point measured_ 3 6 

Shale, brown ; weathers gray ; carbonaceous, sandy_ 3 0 

Sandstone, gray; weathers yellow and brown; massive. 

Beds of sandy gray to brown shale as thick as 4 feet 

are interstratified with the sandstone_i_ 86 0 

Shale, black, carbonaceous, showing a transition upward 

into drab shale, which becomes sandy near top_ 3 0 

Bed D, location 148 : Coal, blocky_ 1 6 

Shale, clayey, drab; joints iron stained; upper part very 

gypsiferous and carbonaceous_ 7 6 

Bed C, location 148: 

Coal- S 4 

Clay, sandy, yellow, drab at top_ 1 9 

Coal, fair, much weathered_ 3 8 

Sandstone, brown, carbonaceous_ £ 

Coal, fair, much weathered_:_ 1 4 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous, in places sandy_ 8 5 

Bed B, location 132: Coal, blocky, fair_ 1 S 

Sandstone, gray; weathers brown; medium bedded, very 
lenticular; in places represented by drab sandy shale_ 23 0 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous, showing a transition up¬ 
ward into gray sandy shale_ 11 Q 

Bed A, location 121: 

Coal, fair, weathered_ 1 2 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ 4 

Coal, brown, fair_ 4 

Shale, brown, sandy_ 6 


1 Gilbert, G. K., op. cit., pp. 4, 5. 




























U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN 628 PLATE IV 






































































































































































































'* 

























































































GEOLOGY. 33 

Bed A, location 121—Continued. Ft. in. 

Coal_ 1 2 

Coal, bony_ 7 

Coal- 3 6 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous, sandy_ 10 * 

Sandstone, white, medium grained_ 1 0 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous, sandy_ L _ 4 

Sandstone, lenticular_ 4 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous, sandy; contains a little coal 

in places_ 4 o 

Sandstone, gray, massive_ 57 0 

Sandstone, shaly and thin bedded at base, medium 

bedded above_ 16 0 

Sandstone, shaly, carbonaceous; contains thin lenses of 

coal and at some other places is represented by coal_ 5 

Sandstone, thin bedded, very soft, carbonaceous_ 4 0 

Sandstone, yellowish gray, calcareous, very fossiliferous_ 10 

Shale, drab to yellow, sandy; upper part (1^ feet) very 

fossiliferous_ 14 6 

Sandstone, yellowish gray; weathers brown; somewhat 


cross-bedded, ledge maker; contains tbin lenses of 
shale in places; the top of this sandstone forms a 
structural terrace on which rest-gravel and bowlders 
of basalt_ 40 0 


475 1*± 

*The above section shows an unusual thickness of coal. Taff 1 con¬ 
sidered this sandstone (“sandstone of the Red Plateau”) to be the 
same formation that caps Cedar Mountain (Red Plateau), 35 miles 
to the northeast, but the latter formation is about 1,200 feet strati- 
graphically below the former and probably is equivalent to a con¬ 
glomerate at the base of the Henrys Fork group of Gilbert’s Henry 
Mountains classification, or about 450 feet below the top of the 
McElmo formation. 2 As these formations are in some respect simi¬ 
lar, and as Taff’s work along the east side of Castle Valley was 
entirely reconnaissance, his conclusion that the coal-bearing sand¬ 
stone south and east of Emery is the same as the formation capping 
Cedar Mountain naturally followed. 

SHALE ABOVE THE FERRON SANDSTONE MEMBER. 

The upper shaly part of the Mancos shale (“ shale of Castle 
Valley” of Taff’s classification) is about 3,000 feet thick, as de¬ 
termined a few miles northeast of Emery. It rests with apparent 
conformity upon the Perron sandstone member and probably should 
be correlated with the Masuk shale of Gilbert’s section of the 

1 Taff, J. A., Book Cliffs coal field, Utah, west of Green River : U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 
285, p. 291, 1906. 

2 Gilbert, G. K., op. cit., p. 4. 

21246°—Bull. 628—16 


3 


















34 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

0 

Cretaceous of the Henry Mountains region. 1 This subdivision of 
the Mancos shale is grayish drab in color, and is sandy in its lower 
and upper parts. The upper part in some places contains lenses of 
friable yellowish-gray sandstone. Fossils collected in the lower part 
of the shale above the Ferron sandstone member indicate that this 
shale is unquestionably of Mancos age. The species identified by 
T. W. Stanton are typical of the lower part of the Mancos and are 
as follows: 


Inoceramus acutiplicatus Stanton? 
Inoceramus labiatus Schlotheim. 
Inoceramus sp. 

Ostrea congesta Conrad. 


Ostrea sp. 

Baculites sp. 

Fish scales and bones. 


The topographic forms resulting from the erosion of this part of 
the Mancos shale are similar to those of the shale below the Ferron 
member. This upper shale, together with the overlying Mesaverde 
formation, constitutes the “ riser ” of the “ step ” formed by the over- 
lying Mesaverde that caps the east face of the Wasatch Plateau. 


MESAVERDE FORMATION. 

The Mesaverde formation in this region consists of yellowish-gray 
sandstone, sandy shale, and coal beds. The outcrops form the upper 
part of the prominent east scarp of the Wasatch Plateau. From 
western Colorado westward along the Book Cliffs to Castle Gate, 
Utah, and thence south westward along the Wasatch Plateau, the 
Mesaverde rocks occupy the same relative position in this extensive 
cliff. The formation becomes thinner to the south, as is shown by 
measurements at Sunnyside, Utah, where about 1,650 feet of it is 
exposed, 2 and at Emery, where the writer by aneroid barometer de¬ 
termined the thickness to be about 1,150 feet. Taff 3 called this coal 
formation Laramie. Regarding its thickness he said: “ In the Book 
Cliffs the sandstone is estimated to be not less than 1,000 feet thick.” 
Many of the sandstones included in the formation are massive and 
in places are 200 feet or more in thickness. The prominent coal 
beds occur mainly in the sandy shale portions of the formation, 
but as it was not examined in detail for coal little can be said as to 
the number and thickness of the coal beds present. In some places 
the coal has been burned, producing slag; in other places the burning 
has merely oxidized the small quantities of iron in the rocks, giving 
them a brick-red color. In the vicinity of Emery the principal coal 
beds are included within about 500 feet of strata, beginning 200 or 
300 feet above the base of the formation. 

1 Gilbert, G. K., op. cit., pp. 4, 5. 

2 Unpublished data furnished by F. R. Clark. 

3 Taff, J. A., Book Cliffs coal field, Utah, west of Green River: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull 
285, pp. 291-293, 1906. 





GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 628 PLATE V 














. 



















































GEOLOGY. 35 

A part of the Mesaverde formation was measured in the canyon of 
Ferron Creek, as shown below. 


Section of part of the Mesaverde formation in Ferron Creek canyon about 12 

miles slightly north of west of Ferron. 


Ft. in. 

Sandstone, yellowish gray, mainly massive_ 20+ 

Coal_ 3 3 

Shale, bluish gray, showing transition into carbona¬ 
ceous shale_ 2 0 

Sandstone, gray, weathers buff, fine grained_ 4 6 

Shale, sandy and shaly sandstone, gray_ 5 G 

Sandstone, gray, weathers buff, medium bedded; con¬ 
tains leaves in upper part_ 7 G 

Shale, black, carbonaceous_ 1 0 

Coal, weathered_ 4 2 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ 2 6 

Coal, much weathered_ 4 6± 

Sandstone, gray, massive_ 25+ 

Sandstone, yellowish gray, thin bedded (to level of 

Ferron Creek)_ 40+ 


119 11± 

Total coal_ 11 11 ± 


Fossil leaves were collected at this locality and were identified by 
F. H. Knowlton as Sequoia reicheribachi (Geinitz) Heer and frag¬ 
mentary dicotyledons, which he states are “ presumably Montana ” 
in age. 

It is probable that this formation is equivalent to the Masuk sand¬ 
stone, about 500 feet thick, as described by Gilbert, 1 occurring in 
the Henry Mountains region, 80 miles southeast of Emery, where 
it is coal bearing and similar to the Mesaverde both lithologically 
and stratigraphically. 


TERTIARY SYSTEM. 

EOCENE SERIES. 

WASATCH FORMATION. 

The Wasatch formation was examined by the writer at only one 
locality in the area under consideration. This formation consists of 
alternating beds of soft varicolored sandstone and sandy shale, pos¬ 
sibly 1,000 feet thick. 

Wherever the contact between the Wasatch formation and the 
underlying Mesaverde formation has been carefully examined in 
northeastern and central Utah, evidences of an unconformity of a 
greater or less degree are unquestionable. On Deep Creek, 2 about 

1 Gilbert, G. K., op. cit., pp. 4, 5. 

2 Lupton, C. T., The Deep Creek district of the Vernal coal field, Uinta County, Utah : 
U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 471, p. 585, 1912. 

















36 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

12 miles northwest of Vernal, the Wasatch formation rests upon an 
eroded surface of the Mancos shale. Near Vernal 1 and northeast of 
Blacktail Mountain 2 it lies unconformably upon the lower part of 
the Mesaverde, and northwest of Blacktail Mountain 3 it rests on the 
higher beds of the Mesaverde. In the vicinity of Castle Valley the 
unconformity is not so pronounced as it is farther north, along the 
south flank of Uinta Mountains. 

At the north end of Castle Valley, near Sunny side, about 3,700 feet 4 
of strata constitute the Wasatch formation. Its base is marked by 
about 3 feet of yellowish-gray conglomerate. The pebbles, which are 
partly subangular and partly well rounded, range from sand grains 
to pebbles 3 inches in diameter. The matrix is a hard, well-cemented 
mass of fine quartz grains. The Wasatch near Emery is estimated to 
be 1,000 feet thick, showing a great decrease in the thickness of this 
formation toward the south, which is true also of the Mesaverde for¬ 
mation, as mentioned above. The topographic forms resulting from 
the erosion of the Wasatch formation are smooth slopes which present 
a striking contrast to the cliffs formed by rocks of the overlying 
Green River (?) formation and the underlying Mesaverde. No 
minerals of any economic importance are known to be present in the 
Wasatch formation of this immediate region; but near Colton and 
Wales, 75 to 150 miles northwest, thin coal beds are present. 

GREEN RIVER (?) FORMATION. 

The Green River (?) formation overlies the Wasatch and in this 
locality consists of about 800 feet of grayish-drab fine-grained cal¬ 
careous sandstone and sandy shale, which weather white. This for¬ 
mation, which caps the highest part of the Wasatch Plateau west of 
Emery, crops out in almost vertical cliffs. Although no opportunity 
w T as afforded to determine the character of the contact at the base 
of the Green River (?) formation, yet it is believed to rest conform¬ 
ably on the Wasatch formation above described. 

QUATERNARY (?) SYSTEM. 

PLEISTOCENE (?) SERIES. 

ALLUVIAL FANS. 

Former stages of erosion are recorded by the presence of numerous 
remnants of alluvial fans, probably of Quaternary age. These 
fans fringe the east face of the Wasatch Plateau for its entire length 

1 Gale, H. S„ Coal fields of northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah : U. S. Geol. 
Survey Bull. 415, p. 205, pi. 21, 1910. 

2 Lupton, C. T., The Blacktail (Tabby) Mountain coal field, Wasatch County, Utah: 
U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 471, p. 607, 1912. 

3 Idem, pp. 607, 608. 

4 Determined by F. R. Clark. - 



GEOLOGY. 


37 


and are equally numerous along the Book Cliffs, which extend south¬ 
eastward and eastward into Colorado. The upper surfaces of the 
fans slope from the plateau at angles ranging from almost horizon¬ 
tal to 15°, being steepest near the cliffs. The drift or wash in these 
remnants is thickest near the cliffs and becomes thinner as the dis¬ 
tance from the upland is increased. The greatest thickness of debris 
I or fan material observed at any one place is about 50 feet. 

In most places the fans seem to have been formed about the base 
of a somewhat dissected cliff from which intermittent streams carry 
large amounts of material. The positions of the alluvial fans of the 
first stage of erosion, represented now by remnants of fans, show 
conclusively that the present courses of the streams have changed but 
little since the time of the formation of the fans, because nowhere, 
so far as was observed by the writer, does a perennial stream flow 
through the ruins of one of these once complete erosion forms. 
Erosion has so thoroughly dissected these old alluvial fans that in 
places only a few remnants in the forms of mesas and buttes, with 
sloping upper surfaces, are left to mark the position of a former 
large fan. Along the Book Cliffs and Wasatch Plateau alluvial fans 
are formed with considerable rapidity (in the geologic sense) and 
are dissected with equal speed, because of the fact that the material 
on which the drift is deposited (Mancos shale) succumbs to erosion 
as readily as the semiconsolidated detritus of the fans themselves. 
The older remnants near the cliffs are from 200 to 300 feet above the 
surrounding country, but a few miles east of the plateau they are 
low and grade into the floor of Castle Yalley. 

Remnants of lower and more recent fans are also present, but they 
are much more nearly complete. The material being eroded at 
present is being deposited along the base of the Wasatch Plateau in 
the form of alluvial fans. 


TERRACE GRAVELS. 

Remnants of gravel-capped terraces, which probably are of the 
same age as the remnants of the older and higher alluvial fans above 
described, occur at several places along the streams that cross Castle 
Yalley. One of the most prominent of these remnants is situated in 
the E. | sec. 26, T. 19 S., R. 8 E. It is in the form of a small mesa 
or butte, the top of which is a few acres in extent and lies about 250 
feet above the level of Ferron Creek. The upper 10 to 15 feet of the 
mesa is a slightly consolidated conglomerate, the pebbles of which 
consist of well-rounded fragments of yellowish-gray sandstone, gray 
and drab limestone, quartzitic sandstone, and black cherty material, 
and range in size from sand grains to bowlders 1 foot in diameter. 
Another gravel-capped terrace remnant of probably the same age is 


38 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY", UTAH. 


situated on the north side of Ferron Creek near the southwest corner 
of sec. 34, T. 19 S., R. 8 E. A few miles below the junction of Ferron 
and Cottonwood creeks, on San Rafael River at the west end of 
Fullers Bottom, is a terrace remnant capped with gravel, its top 
about 100 feet above the river level, which is believed to be of the 
same age as those described above. A terrace remnant at a similar 
height above the stream is situated on the west side of Ferron Creek 
about 1 mile above its mouth. Other remnants of probably the same 
age occur along both sides of the same creek about 5 miles above its 
mouth, in sec. 36, T. 19 S., R 8 E., and sec. 2, T. 20 S., R. 8 E. The 
pebbles composing the conglomerate in the tops of these terraces are 
similar in size and composition to those in the conglomerate capping 
the small mesa in sec. 26, T. 19 S., R. 8 E., referred to above. 

Gravel-capped terrace remnants about 50 feet above the stream bed 
occur on each side of Huntington Creek in secs. 33 and 34, T. 18 S., 
R. 9 E., and secs. 3, 4, 8, and 9, T. 19 S., R. 9 E. Similar terrace rem¬ 
nants exist along the west side of Ferron Creek about 1 mile above 
its mouth, along Muddy Creek in secs. 12 and 13, T. 23 S., R. 6 E., 
and on the north side of Quitchuppah Creek in secs. 28, 32, and 33, 
T. 22 S., R. 6 E., north and northwest of the Browning mine. 

The most conspicuous gravel-capped terraces in the entire field 
occur directly south of Ivie Creek in T. 23 S., Rs. 5 and 6 E., and 
T. 24 S., R. 5 E. Five of these terraces, represented by numbers from 
1 to 5 on Plate XII, are in the southeastern part of T. 23 S., R. 5 E., 
and the highest one (No. 6) lies for the most part in secs. 4 and 9, 
T. 24 S., R. 5 E. The following table shows the average vertical dis¬ 




tance between the terraces: 


Approximate average vertical distance between terraces south of Ivie Creek. 


No. 

Feet. 

Datum plane. 

6 

200 

Above No. 5. 

5 

60 

Above No. 4. 

4 

50 

Above No. 3. 

3 

75 

Above No. 2. 

2 

80 

Above No. 1. 

1 

150 

Above Ivie Creek. 


Some of the terraces are missing in places, as shown on Plate XII, 
and all of them have been eroded considerably. Terrace No. 5 is 
more than 6 miles long, but it includes only a little more area than 
No. 4. The highest terrace (No. 6) is much eroded and covers ap¬ 
proximately 1 square mile. Terraces Nos. 1, 2, and 3 cover com¬ 
paratively small areas, are narrow, and are irregular in outline, but 
Nos. 4 and 5 have a much larger extent. In general, these terraces 
slope to the north at an average of 0.5° or more, but in places the 
upper surfaces slope as much as 4.5°, as, for example, at Windy 
Point, in the northern part of sec. 1, T. 24 S., R. 5 E. 







GEOLOGY. 


39 


Directly north of Ivie Creek the terraces are not present, except in 
a small area included principally in sec. 33, T. 23 S., R. 5 E. 

The material composing the greater part of the gravels which cap 
the terraces consists principally of subangular to rounded frag¬ 
ments of basalt, the largest of which are 4 or 5 feet in diameter. 
They are derived from the extensive masses of this rock in the 
vicinity of Mount Hilgard and Mount Alice and to the southwest. 
In places as much as 20 feet of this material rests unconformably on 
the Mancos shale. 

QUATERNARY SYSTEM. 

RECENT SERIES. 

The deposits of Recent age comprise the soil which forms a mantle 
over the greater part of the floor of Castle Valley and which is very 
productive wherever moisture is sufficient; the low gravel-covered 
terraces along streams; the low extensive compound alluvial fans 
along the base of the Wasatch Plateau and lower scarps; and sand 
dunes of small extent in T. 21 S., Rs. 7 and 8 E. 

IGNEOUS ROCltS. 

The east face of a basalt-capped upland which connects Mount 
Hilgard and Thousand Lake Mountain extends northward across 
secs. 9 and 4, T. 26 S., R. 4 E., and secs. 33 and 28, T. 25 S., R. 4 E., 
and then veers slightly to the west. No definite information regard¬ 
ing the thickness of these igneous rocks, which are described at length 
by Dutton, 1 was obtained. In addition to this basalt, a few dikes 
of the same material occur in sec. 34, T. 25 S., R. 4 E., and in secs. 2 
and 11, T. 25 S., R. 5 E. 


STRUCTURE. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

The structure of Castle Valley is monoclinal and very simple. 
In general the strata dip slightly to the northwest, but here and 
there small local domes are present. The beds are probably a little 
more steeply inclined at the south end of the field than at any other 
place. The McElmo and La Plata rocks as a rule dip more steeply 
than the beds stratigraphically above or below them. The younger 
Mesaverde, Wasatch, and Green River (?) formations lie almost hori¬ 
zontal. Some faulting has occurred along the east scarp of the 
Wasatch Plateau, at the south end of the field, and on the west slope 
of Cedar Mountain or Red Plateau. 


1 Dutton, C. E., Report on the geology of the high plateaus of Utah, pp. 271, 280, U. S. 
Geog. and Geol. Survey Rocky Mtn. Region, 1880. 



40 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY } UTAH. 


UPFOLDS AND DOMES. 

Small local upfolds and domes exist at several places in Castle Val¬ 
ley. They are, named in order from north to south, the Farnham up- 
fold, northeast of Farnham, a flag station on the Denver & Rio Grande 
Railroad; the Castledale dome, on Cottonwood Creek, about 3 miles 
east of Castledale; the Paradise dome, south of Ferron Creek and 
about 8 miles east of the town of Ferron, in the northeastern part of 
T. 20 S., R. 8 E.; the Rochester upfold, in the southeastern part of 
T. 21 S., R. 7 E., 3 miles east of Rochester; and the Last Chance 
Creek dome, in the eastern part of T. 25 S., R. 5 E., directly east of 
the principal escarpment. 

The Farnham upfold, an elliptical anticline situated mainly north 
of Price River, is 4 or 5 miles long from north to south and about 2 
miles wide. Strike faults having displacements of as much as 300 
feet, with the upthrown side next to the axis, occur at each side of 
the fold. On the west side, where the dips are steepest and the dis¬ 
placement is the greatest, step faults are present. Along the east 
side and north end the dips range from nearly zero to 10° or 15°; 
on the west side the strata are much more steeply inclined and the 
dips range from nearly zero some distance from the line of flexure to 
nearly vertical at one point near the southwest corner of sec. 12, T. 
15 S., R. 11 E., where a prominent fault terminates and a flexure 
begins. The lowest rocks exposed in this eroded upfold belong to the 
McElmo formation. 

The Castledale dome is nearly circular and is about 3 miles in 
diameter. The beds are horizontal in the center of the uplift but 
dip as much as 11° at the west side. The dome is slightly dissected 
by Cottonwood Creek and some of its northern intermittent tribu¬ 
taries. 

The Paradise dome is nearly circular and is about 2 miles in diam¬ 
eter. The beds, however, do not dip so steeply as those in the Castle¬ 
dale dome, the maximum dips being 6° W. and 2° E. Erosion has 
exposed the upper part of the McElmo formation in this dome. 

The Rochester upfold is elliptical and is about 2 miles long from 
northeast to southwest and 1 mile wide. The slight deformation oc¬ 
curring here is apparent only in the Ferron sandstone member of the 
Mancos shale. The maximum dip of the strata in this upfold is 15° 
W.; the largest eastern dip is only 6°. 

The Last Chance Creek dome is larger than any of the upfolds or 
domes above described. Only its western and northern limits are 
shown on Plates X and XII. It was not studied in detail, and the 
dips shown on the maps are only approximate. These upfolds and 
domes suggest favorable structure for the accumulation of oil and 
gas, but there is no definite evidence that they contain these products. 


U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN 628 PLATE VI 



A. EMERY FAULT, NORTH OF IVIE CREEK. 

Indicated by heavy black line marked 1. 2, Mesaverde rocks; 3, Mancos shale. 



B. PARADISE FAULT, NEAR THE SOUTHWEST END OF THE EMERY COAL FIELD. 

1, Youngs Point, a few miles north of Emery; 2, fault; 3, Paradise Lake; 4, Ferron sandstone member of 

Mancos shale. 











GEOLOGY. 


41 


Many of them are so small in extent, and one, the Farnham up fold, is 
so much faulted, that the probabilities that they contain oil or gas 
in commercial quantities are very remote. Faulting, however, is not 
always an unfavorable condition for the accumulation of oil and gas 
in a dome or anticline. The Farnham upfold has been staked for oil 
once or twice, and it is now reported that a company contemplates 
drilling there. 

FAULTS. 

The faults in this area are strike faults—that is, their trend coin¬ 
cides with the strike of the beds—and are situated principally on the 
west side of Castle Valley near its south end, adjacent to the 
Wasatch Plateau. Two principal faults, the Emery fault and the 
Paradise fault, were mapped in considerable detail and are shown 
on Plates X and XII. Directly west of the Emery fault is a down- 
dropped block which is broken by numerous minor faults and which 
is in this report called the faulted zone. Although some of the 
faults in the faulted zone were mapped, no attempt was made to 
locate in detail all of them. 

The Emery fault is about 20 miles longhand extends in a southwest¬ 
erly direction through T. 22 S., Rs. 5 and 6 E., and T. 23 S., R. 5 E., 
and about 5 miles south into T. 24 S., R. 5 E. It terminates a short 
distance south of Deer Peak, in sec. 29, T. 24 S., R. 5 E., where it 
intersects a short concealed east-west fault, the downthrow of which 
is on the north side. In the vicinity of Emery the downthrow is 
comparatively small, but it increases toward the southwest to about 
2,000 feet near Ivie Creek, in sec. 5, T. 24 S., R. 5 E. It is believed 
that the Emery fault is continuous from its north end to a point 1J 
miles south of Ivie Creek. From this place to its intersection with 
the east-west fault referred to above its position is covered with sur¬ 
face wash and talus, so that its continuity is somewhat uncertain. 
The Emery fault in the vicinity of Ivie Creek is well shown by 
Plate VI, A. 

The exact location of the east-west fault near Last Chance Creek 
is not known, but its existence is assumed in order to explain the 
structure in this immediate locality. As is indicated on both Plates 
X and XII, the down-faulted block of Mesaverde rocks which in¬ 
cludes the faulted zone lies just west of Deer Peak and extends con¬ 
tinuously as far north and northeast as Emery. A mile or more south 
of the assumed east-west fault beds of the Ferron sandstone member 
crop out along Last Chance Creek and are unbroken by even minor 
faults from the prominent escarpment in sec. 9, T. 25 S., R. 5 E., as 
far west as the Paradise fault, in sec. 1, T. 25 S., R. 4 E. These rela¬ 
tions necessitate the assumption of a displacement of 2,500 to 3,000 
feet along an east-west line. 


42 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 


On Deer Peak, in sec. 29, T. 24 S., R. 5 E., there are several small 
strike faults where the Mesaverde strata have been dragged up with 
the Mancos shale, which lies east of the faults. The prevailing dips 
are to the west. 

The faulted zone west of the Emery fault is a down-dropped block 
of Mesaverde rocks, which has been broken into smaller blocks princi¬ 
pally by numerous strike faults. In places it is as much as 3 miles in 
width, but elsewhere it is very narrow, and to the north it probably 
connects with the Pleasant Valley and Joes Valley faults described 
by Taff. 1 This faulted belt extends parallel to the Emery fault and 
was studied with especial care along Ivie Creek in secs. 5 and 6, T. 24l 
S., R. 5 E., where the strata are well exposed. Directly west of the 


Emery fault in this locality there is a block of Mesaverde strata from 


1,000 to 1,500 feet wide, dipping about 31° W., whereas the rocks 
lying directly west of this block are much more nearly horizontal, 
dipping only 1° to 10° W. This attitude of the strata is to be expected 
from the fact that the faulted zone on the west side of the fault has 
been dropped, but those beds lying immediately west of the fault have 
been retarded in their descent, thus producing steep dips in the strata 
near the fault and gradually decreasing dips toward the west away 
from the fault. 

Several other minor faults of slight throw cross Ivie Creek be¬ 
tween the Emery fault and the Paradise fault, which in this locality 
is marked approximately by the edge of the prominent escarpment 
that exposes several hundred feet of that part of the Mancos shale 
above the Ferron sandstone member and the overlying Mesaverde 
strata. The faulted zone becomes less prominent south of Ivie Creek 
and terminates at the short east-west fault about a mile north of Last 
Chance Creek. The displacement due to faults within the faulted 
zone is much less than at the edges of this enormous down-faulted 
block, where the maximum displacement is approximately 2,000 feet. 

The Paradise fault was mapped in detail from Ivie Creek to 
the south end of the field, in sec. 4, T. 26 S., R. 4 E. Its position 
north of Ivie Creek is given only approximately. This fault prob¬ 
ably connects directly with the Mille Lac (Thousand Lake) fault, 
which was first described by Gilbert 2 in his report on the Henry 
Mountains. Plate VI, R, shows the Paradise fault near Paradise 
Lake, at the south end of the field. North of the east-west fault 
about a mile north of Last Chance Creek the Paradise fault has its 
downthrow on the east side, but south of that locality the down¬ 
throw is on the west side. At Last Chance Creek the strata west of 
the fault have been dropped 2,000 to 3,000 feet, the displacement 




1 Taff, J. A., The Pleasant Valley coal district, Carbon and Emery counties, Utah 
U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 316, pp. 343-346, pi. 20, 1907. 

2 Gilbert, G. K., op. cit., pi. 2. 





THE COAL. 


43 


equaling the thickness of the Mancos shale above the Ferron sand¬ 
stone member, as is shown by the fact that the top of that sand¬ 
stone on the east side of the fault is now at the level of the lower 
part of the Mesaverde formation on the west side of the fault. It is 
believed that the displacement at the south end of the field is prob¬ 
ably 500 feet more than that at Last Chance Creek. 

The faults within the Farnham upfold have been referred to above 
(p. 40). The principal fault on the west side of the fold extends 
more than a‘ mile south of Price River. In the northern part of sec. 
27, T. 15 S., R. 11 E., it strikes N. 40° E. and has a displacement of 
about 200 feet, the downthrow being on the east side. North of 
Price River the maximum throw is at least 300 feet. 

A few faults exist on the west slope of Cedar Mountain or Red 
Plateau, near the north end of the field. One of these has a throw 
of possibly 200 or 300 feet and is from 2 to 4 miles in length. Other 
minor faults, mainly of this same type, occur at the south end of 
Cedar Mountain. 

THE COAL. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

The coal field herein described (see PI. X, p. 74) lies east, south, 
and southwest of Emery. The coal, as shown by its resistance to 
weathering (“ stocking’’ qualities) and its chemical composition, is a 
good bituminous coal. All the commercially important coal beds in 
this field occur in the Ferron sandstone member of the Mancos shale, 
which was mapped from Mounds southwestward for about 80 miles, 
to the south end of the field, in the northern part of T. 26 S., R. 4 E. 
The northernmost coal of importance appearing at the surface in the 
Ferron sandstone crops out in sec. 26, T. 21 S., R. 7 E. From this 
locality to the southern edge of the field no one coal bed was found 
to be continuous for the entire distance of 33 miles, but coal is 
present in one or more beds at every place examined, except in part 
of T. 22 S., R. 7 E. (see PI. X), where the coal-bearing rocks are 
believed to be barren of coal of economic importance. The Ferron 
sandstone contains 14 coal beds in the Emery coal field. These beds 
are designated on Plates VIII, IX, and X by the letters A to L, La, 
and M. Bed A is the lowest and bed M the highest stratigraphically. 

The Dakota sandstone in places contains thin lenses of coal which 
are of little or no economic importance compared with the coal in 
the Ferron sandstone member in Castle Valley and in the Wasatch 
Plateau field, to the west. This coal is discussed in detail under 
“Coal in the Dakota sandstone” (pp. 74-76). 

Good coal occurs in the Mesa verde rocks that crop out in the east 
face of the Wasatch Plateau immediately west of the Emery coal 
field, but only one section of this coal (No. 422, near Paradise Lake) 


44 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

was measured. Plate X (p. 74) shows the outcrop of the coal 
beds in the Ferron sandstone member and the prospects, mines, 
and exposures where the coal beds were measured, as well as 
roads, houses, streams, faults, dikes, geologic boundaries, and the 
principal sandstone cliffs. The locations at which the coal was meas¬ 
ured are indicated by numbers, which are arranged on the map and 
described in the text by townships in order from north to south. 
The beds are considered from the base of the coal group upward, 
except in the description of the coal in T. 21 S., R. 7 E., where 
a coal bed is described whose correlation with any coal in the town¬ 
ship to the south is unknown. The areas of clinker indicated on the 
map represent localities where the coal has been burned along the 
outcrop. South of I vie Creek the approximate elevations of numer¬ 
ous points on the coal outcrops as well as elsewhere are shown. A 
comparison of these altitudes will indicate something of the topog¬ 
raphy and relief. 

CORRELATION OF COAL BEDS IN FERRON SANDSTONE MEMBER OF 

MANCOS SHALE. 

Plate VII (p. 44) shows 18 graphic sections of beds that contain 
more or less coal. They are arranged on the plate from right to left 
in order as they appear, from northeast to southwest, along the out¬ 
crop of the coal-bearing formation. These sections show something 
of the vertical distribution, the variation in occurrence, and the 
change in the distances between the coal beds in the Emery field. 
The localities at which these sections were measured are indicated 
on the map (PL X) by letters corresponding to those placed at the 
tops of the sections on Plate VII. The letters at the left* of the sec¬ 
tions indicate coal beds. The figures at the right of the sections 
refer to the coal sections measured at those places, and for the most 
part shown graphically on Plates VIII and IX. The approximate 
distances, between the places at which the sections were measured are 
also shown. 

Some of the coal beds that occur near the middle of the Ferron 
sandstone on Ivie Creek (see sections K and L, PI. VII) are either 
thin or not exposed at the surface at the south end of the coal field 
(see sections P, Q, and R, PI. VII). Many of the sections do not 
show all the coal beds, but the lack may be due to poor exposures 
rather than to the absence of certain beds. 

Wherever the correlation of the coal beds in the Emery field is 
doubtful a question mark is placed after the letter at the left of the 
coal bed. (See PI. VII.) 

Columnar section A, measured in the NW. i SE. i sec. 34, T. 21 S., 
R. 7 E., shows the presence of only one coal bed (A, coal section No. 
9), which is described on page 48. 


u. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN 628 PLATE VII 


Secs 25,26 

T.25S., R.4E, Secs. A, 5, 9 
T.25S.,R.5 E. 


378 


'6- ‘O* • 

V - ; -o 
: b. 

V 


382 





372- » 


miles 


mu- 


4 Sec. 13 
T.24S,R.5E. 
\ 

\ 


Sec. 4 
T.24S. fc.6E. 


Secs.7 ( \7 t 18 
T.23S., R.6 E. 




<o* • • 
• <?■ 


31 z !yrron_ ^sandstone 

306 


30 ! 

283 


of Mancos_\ 
id_stone_ _ _rnernber_ - or -_- f 


= Jiha±e_ 
\ 234 


347 


N 

Sec. 21 

T.23S., R.6 E. 


213 

203 


339 


€ miles 


3 % miles 


miles 


160 


139 


128- C 


miles 



C? 


LEGEND 

Coat- Letter indicates bed, 

33 number indicates location (See Plate X) 


a Bone 


Carbonaceous 

shale 

Carbonaceous 

day 

Carbonaceous 
F —sandy ctay 


] Shale 


Sandy shale 


jtasj Clay 

jzTTVp -vj Sandy day 
| • • • • | Massive sandstone 
|vS:S:j Bedded sandstone 


Cross-bedded 
sandstone 


W 


Concretions 


vt*v r V 4 1 Chnker 

v \v*H 


Sec. II 

T.23S., R.6 E. 


Sec.4- 

T.23S., R.6 E. 


— -A 


^ miles 


176 


168 

148 


i, mile 



G 

Sec.3 

T.23S., R.6 E. 


i mile 


174 


150 

144 


Miles indicate horizontal 
distances between sections 


Sec 24 
T22S., R.6 E. 


223 

183 


E 

Sec. 2 

T.23S., R.6 E. 


/ mile 


D 

Sec. 35 
T.22S., R.6 E. 


c 

Sec 26 
T.22S., R.6 E 


204 

181 


/ mile 


78 


1142 


I df miles 


118 


Vertical scale 
100 iso 


200 Feet 




I £ miles 


46 


29 

ii 


68 


52 


42 


A 

Sec. 34 
T.2IS., R.7 E. 


Of 


/if miles 


27 


5if miles 


DU| _ pnciT.nN nP rnAL BEDS IN THE FERRON SANDSTONE MEMBER OF THE MANCOS SHALE IN THE EMERY COAL FIELD. 
COLUMNAR SECTIONS SHOWING THE STRATIGRAPHIC POSITION OF COAL BEDS 






















































































































































































































































ft 





.' .. 

- - - ... 




• " .3 «>.fl. £ 2S. r 

' T i " 







•' - . - 

. ■ 9 ^ 




~ ’ • • 












































- - 












































































THE COAL. 


45 


Columnar section B, measured in the SW. J NW. i sec. 24, T. 22 S., 
R, 6 E., shows four coal beds (beds C (?), G, H, and I). Beds C (?) 
and I are unquestionably of commercial value at this place, but beds 
G and H are of little economic importance. Coal beds A and B are 
not exposed at the surface at this locality. 

Columnar section C, measured in the NE. J sec. 26, T. 22 S., R. 
6 E., shows that the thickness of the rocks between beds C (?) and G 
is less than it is in section B, but the distance between beds G and I 
is about the same in both sections. Bed H is not exposed at the place 
where section C was measured. Bed A (?) contains 1 foot of coal 
and lies approximately 10 feet below bed C (?), which contains more 
coal than any of the other beds. 

Columnar section D in a stratigraphic distance of 150 feet in¬ 
cludes coal beds A (?), C (?), G, J (?), and K. This section was 
measured in the SW. J SE. J sec. 35, T. 22 S., R. 6 E. Bed C (?) is 
here also the principal bed. 

Columnar section E, measured in the NW. J SW. J sec. 2, T. 23 S., 
R. 6 E., includes only two coal beds. Bed I was measured near the 
old Emery mine, at location 181. Bed J, at location 204, is about 15 
feet stratigraphically abov^ bed I and is of little value. 

Columnar section F was measured in the SE. J NW. J sec. 11, T. 
23 S., R. 6 E., and includes coal beds C, H, I (?), and L. Bed I (?) 
lies about 185 feet above bed C, and bed L is 10 feet above bed I (?). 
The horizon of bed H is represented by a slight indication of burn¬ 
ing at the outcrop. Bed C is the principal bed in this locality. (See 
coal section 142, PI. VIII.) 

Columnar section G, measured in the NE. J SW. J sec. 3, T. 23 S., 
R. 6 E., includes coal beds C, D, and G. Bed C is the lowest coal 
exposed at this place. Bed D lies about 4 feet stratigraphically 
above bed C, and bed G, which is of little value, lies about 35 feet 
above bed C. 

Columnar section H, measured in the N. J S. J sec. 3, T. 23 S., 
R. 6 E., directly across a narrow valley from the place where colum¬ 
nar section G was measured, shows the same coal beds as section G 
and in addition bed F. The thickness of the rocks between beds D 
and G in this section is about 10 feet greater than in columnar sec¬ 
tion G, measured across the valley. The stratigraphic distance be¬ 
tween beds C and D is also a few feet greater in section H than in 
section G. Columnar sections G and H show more coal in their 
lower parts than any of the other columnar sections measured. 

Columnar section I, measured in the NE. \ SE. J sec. 4, T. 23 S., 
R. 6 E., includes coal beds A, C, F, and G and the horizon of bed I 
at the top. Bed D, however, may be represented by the upper bench 
of coal in bed C. (See coal section 146, PI. VIII.j The horizon of 


46 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

coal bed I, stratigraphically about 85 feet above bed G (location 
176), is marked by a band of baked clay and slag. 

Coal beds A, C, F, and G are included in columnar section J, 
measured in the SW. \ SE. \ sec. 33, T. 22 S., R. 6 E. The strati¬ 
graphic distance between coal beds C and F is at least 10 feet greater 
in this section than in columnar section I. The distance between 
coal beds F and G in section J is correspondingly less than in sec¬ 
tion I. 

Columnar section K, measured in the W. 4 sec. 16, T. 23 S., R. 6 
E., shows the position of coal beds A, C (?), G, and I. Bed G at this 
place contains 2 feet of unburned coal and much baked clay. The 
stratigraphic distance between coal beds A and C (?) is about 35 
feet, which is practically the same as the distance between these beds 
in columnar section J, but the distance between beds C (?) and G 
is from 20 to 25 feet greater in section K than in section J. Bed I 
is the onlv coal showm in section K in which the entire coal bed was 
exposed. Beds A and C (?) are represented merely by bands of 
ashes and baked clay. Bed C (?) possibly should be correlated with 
bed B in columnar section L. 

Seven coal beds are included in columnar section L, measured in 
secs. 7, 17, and 18, T. 23 S., R. 6 E. These are beds A, B, C, D, I, J, 
and M. This section shows more coal beds and a greater total thick¬ 
ness of coal than columnar section Iv, a fact which is due in part to 
the poor exposures at the place where section K was measured. It is 
believed, however, that as many coal beds exist directly north of I vie 
Creek at the location of section K as there are at the location where 
section L was measured. The distances between bed A and bed I 
are practically the same in sections K and L. 

Columnar section M was measured in the NW. J SE. ^ sec. 17, T. 
23 S., R. 6 E., and includes coal beds A, B, C, H, I, and J. The strati¬ 
graphic distance between beds A and B is much less at this place than 
where columnar section L was measured. Coal bed C is represented 
by a bed of broAvn carbonaceous shale with a little coal interbedded. 
Beds H and I contain about the same amount of coal (a little more 
than 3 feet) and are separated by about 13 feet of strata. 

Columnar section N includes five coal beds—beds A, B, C, I, and 
J—and was measured in the SW. \ sec. 21, T. 23 S., R. 6 E. Coal 
beds B and C are undoubtedly the same as those designated B and C 
in columnar section M. Beds I and J are definitely correlated with 
beds I and J in columnar sections L and M. Coal beds D, E, F, G, 
and H are not exposed at the locality where columnar section N was 
measured. 

Only four coal beds, A, G, I, and L, are included in columnar sec¬ 
tion O, which was measured in lot 9, sec. 4, T. 24 S., R. 6 E. The 
others, beds B, C, D, E, F, H, J, and K, are not exposed and are 


THE COAL. 


47 


believed to be of little importance at this locality. Bed A is the most 
valuable coal bed in this section, and is stratigraphically about 95 
feet below bed G. Bed I, which is second in value, lies about 120 
feet above bed G, or about 55 feet below bed L. 

Columnar section P, measured in the N. ^ sec. 13, T. 24 S., B. 5 E., 
includes seven coal beds (A, G, I, J, K, L, and M). Coal beds A and 
M are the most valuable, but the other beds are of no economic im¬ 
portance at the outcrop. Beds B, C, D, E, F, and H are not ex¬ 
posed where this section was measured. 

Five coal beds (A, G, I, L, and M) are included in columnar 
section Q, which was measured in secs. 4, 5, and 9, T. 25 S., B. 5 E. 
Bed A is about 440 feet stratigraphically below bed L, and bed M 
about 20 feet above bed L. Beds G and I are of little value. The 
rocks separating the coal beds consist principally of sandstone and 
sandy shale. Coal bed M contains the greatest thickness of coal, as 
indicated on Plate IX by coal section No. 403. 

Columnar section B, measured in secs. 25 and 2G, T. 25 S., B. 4 E., 
shows three coal beds (A, L, and M). Beds A and M contain a 
little less coal here than at the location of columnar section Q, but 
bed L contains more coal. The distance between coal beds A and L 
is less and that between beds L and M greater at the location of 
columnar section B than at the location of section Q. 


OCCURRENCE. 


COAL IN THE FERRON SANDSTONE MEMBER OF THE MANCOS SHALE. 


T. 21 S., It. 7 E. 

Ten coal sections were measured in secs. 26, 27, 34, and 35, T. 21 S., 
B. 7 E., along the outcrop of one coal bed, which probably should 
be correlated with bed B in the townships to the south. Of these 
10 coal sections Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are shown graphically in Plate 
VIII. The coal, as shown by the graphic sections, ranges in thick¬ 
ness from 1 foot 11 inches to 2 feet 4 inches. At each place the coal 
is overlain and underlain by shale, except at location 4, where it is 
overlain by sandstone. At locations 1, 2, 3, 9, and 10, on the north 
margin of the field, this coal bed is thinner than it is to the south. 
The sections measured at these locations are not shown graphically, 
but are as follows: 


Sections of coal bed B (?) in T. 21 S., R. 7 E. 


[In addition to those shown on Plate VIII.] 

No. 1. SW. I SW. I sec. 26. 

Sandstone, yellowish gray, massive- 

Shale, carbonaceous, sandy- 

Coal, very impure- 

Sandstone, brownish gray, argillaceous- 


Ft. in. 
35-40 

8 

11 

14- 






48 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 


No. 2. NE. I NW. 1 sec. 35. 


Sandstone, brown, carbonaceous_ 

Shale, brown, sandy- 

Coal_ 

Shale, carbonaceous, sandy_ 

No. 3. SE. 1 NW. 1 see. 35. 


Ft. in. 

6 6 
1 

1 3 

6 ± 


Sandstone, carbonaceous, grading into brown shale at 

base_ 

Coal_ 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ 


SI 

14 - 


No. 9. NW. i SE. I sec. 34. 


Shale, brown to black, carbonaceous_ 

Coal, impure_ T _ 

Shale, sandy, carbonaceous, includes thin streaks of 

coal_ 

Sandstone, brown, very carbonaceous_ 

Shale, brown, contains a few thin bands of coal_ 

Coal, very impure_ 

Shale carbonaceous_ 1 _ 


11 

1 


3 


4 

0 

2* 

4 

6 


No. 10. NE. I SW. i sec. 34. 


Sandstone, yellowish gray, thin-bedded, carbonaceous in 

lower part_,_ 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ 

Coal_ 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ 


3 0 
10 

1 0 
14 - 


It is believed that the southeastern part of this township marks 
the northern extent of coal in the Emery coal field. No coal is ex¬ 
posed in the Ferron sandstone farther north in Castle Valley be¬ 
tween this township and the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad at 
Mounds, although in places much carbonaceous shale is present, 
especially east of Molen, in secs. 16 and 21, T. 20 S., R. 8 E. 


T. 22 S., R. 6 E. 


Seventy-two sections were measured on the coal beds in T. 22 S., 
R. 6 E. The following table shows the number of sections obtained 
on each bed, and columnar sections B, C, and D on Plate VII show 
the stratigraphic distances between the beds: 

Coal beds exposed in T. 22 8., It. 6 E. 


Coal 

sections. 


L_ 82 

K_ 81 

J_78-80 

I_60-77 


Coal 

sections. 


H-51-59 

G_42-50 

F_37-41 

E- 36 


* Coal 
sections. 


D- 35 

C-17-34 

A-11-16 

































THE COAL. 


49 


Bed A .—Coal bed A ranges in thickness from 1 foot at location 11 
to 4 feet 11 inches at location 16, the average thickness being about 
1 foot T inches. All the measurements made on the bed are shown 
graphically on Plate VIII, except No. 11, which is as follows: 

Section of coal bed A at location 11, in the SE. I sec. 26, T. 22 S., It. 6 E. 

Feet. 


Sliale, brown, carbonaceous, with thin lenses of coal near base- 10 

Coal, bony, dull_1__ 1 

Shale, brown, weathers bluish___ 4 


The shale that forms the roof of the coal in this section is the floor 
of bed C at location 19. The five graphic sections (PI. VIII) show 
similarities in thickness of coal and in the character of the roof and 
floor, except at location 16, where the coal is much thicker and the 
roof and floor are sandstone. As in places the correlations are 
doubtful, the abrupt change in thickness of bed A at location 16 
suggests a possibility that this section should be correlated with 
bed C. 

Bed C .—Bed C in this township shows considerable variation in 
thickness and character along its outcrop from north to south, its 
thickness ranging from 4 f^et at location 25 to about 13 feet at loca¬ 
tion 30. At location IT, in the SE. 4 NE. \ sec. 25, the bed contains 
several inches more coal than it does at location 18, where it is about 
74 feet thick, but the arrangement of the partings in general is the 
same. In a distance of less than a quarter of a mile the lower 2-foot 
bench of coal at location 17 becomes entirely worthless, and at loca¬ 
tion 18 it is replaced by carbonaceous shale. Sections at locations 
19, 20, and 21 each contain approximately 7 feet of coal, but the 
upper 3-inch parting at location 19 is not present at locations 20 
and 21. At location 22, on the north side of Grassy Valley, in the 
NE. 4 NE. 4 sec. 24, the bed is more broken than it is at locations 
20 and 21. and more nearly resembles the section at location 17 
than any of the other sections between locations 17 and 22. Bed C 
at locations 23, 24, and 25 contains less coal than at any of the other 
locations mentioned, a fact which seems to indicate that the bed thins 
toward the south; but the section measured at location 26, in the 
SE. 4 SW. 4 sec. 13, about 1J miles north of location 25, shows a 
great thickness of coal (7 feet 2 inches) compared with the section 
at location 25. The character of the roof changes toward the west 
and north from location 25, so that sandstone rests directly on the 
coal to a point beyond location 32. Sections at locations 26, 27, and 
28 were measured along the outcrop from north to south and show 
that the bed is thinner on the west side as well as on the east side 
of Muddy Creek, toward the south. (See PI. VIII.) This apparent 
decrease in the thickness ends abruptly, for at location 29, the old 
21240°—Bull. 628—16-4 





50 GEOLOGY AX T D COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 


Casper mine, in the SE. J NW. £ sec. 26, bed C contains 8 feet 5 
inches of coal in two benches. In mining the coal from the Casper 
mine only the lower bench is removed. A sample for analysis (lab¬ 
oratory No. 12652, p. 80) was taken from this mine. (See PI. XI, B , 
p. 81.) At location 30, about a quarter of a mile south of the Casper 
mine, bed C contains 11 feet 3 inches of coal, or 2 feet 10 inches 
more than at location 29. The bed at location 30 is much broken by 
partings, but only two of them would be of special disadvantage in 
mining. At the next point at which the bed was measured (location 
31) only 5 feet of coal in two benches is present. Both benches 
can be mined easilv by using the 1-foot shale parting (see PI. 
VIII) as a “mining seam.” At location 32 the total thickness of 
the bed is about the same as at location 31, but more coal is present 
at location 32 because of the decrease in the thickness of the partings. 
At location 33 the bed is much broken, and probably only the lower 
portion will be mined. Westward from location 33 to location 34, 
a distance of about 2 miles, the coal bed continues fairly constant in 
thickness. 

A careful study of the graphic sections of bed C (PI. VIII) shows 
the coal to be badly split by partings and irregular in thickness. It is 
believed, however, that bed C is more constant in thickness than some 
of the beds farther south, which in places contain more coal than is 
exposed at any point on bed C in this township. For these reasons 
bed C probably holds out greater inducements for future develop¬ 
ment than some of the beds farther south which are apparently 
thicker. 

Bed D .—Coal bed D was measured at only one place, location 35, 
in the SE. £ NE. £ sec. 26, where it is represented by 5 inches of coal 
overlain by sandstone and underlain by brown carbonaceous shale. 

Bed E .—Location 36 marks the position of bed E and is the only 
place in the township where this coal was measured. Bed E con¬ 
tains 9 inches of coal, overlain and underlain by yellowish-gray mas¬ 
sive sandstone and is 24 feet 6 inches stratigraphically above bed E>. 

Bed F .—Five sections of bed F were measured in this township, 
but the coal is of little value at every place. It is thickest at loca¬ 
tion 37, m sec. 26, where it contains 1 foot 2 inches of coal overlain 
by sandstone and underlain by shale, and thinnest at location 38, 
where thin laminae of coal interbedded with drab shale are exposed. 
Five inches of coal, overlain and underlain by brown carbonaceous 
shale, is exposed at the horizon of bed F at location 39. in the SE. £ 
NW. £ sec. 26. About 150 feet north of this place the bed is entirely 
replaced by massive sandstone, whereas at location 40 bed F contains 
G inches of coal overlain and underlain by brown shale. At location 
41 the bed contains 10 inches of fairly good coal overlain and under¬ 
lain by brown carbonaceous shale. 


THE COAL. 


51 


Bed G .—Nine sections on bed G were measured in this township. 
It ranges in thickness from 11 inches at location 47 to 4 feet 4 inches 
at location 50. Five of the sections (Nos. 43, 45, 46, 49, and 50) are 
shown graphically in Plate VIII. The others are as follows: 

Sections of coal bed G in T. 22 S., R. 6 E. 

[In addition to those shown on Plate VIII.] 

No. 42. SW. i NW. 1 sec. 24. 

Ft. in. 


Sandstone and shale, brown, carbonaceous; contains a 

few thin laminae of coal near base_ 2 0 

Coal, fair, weathered_ 1 3 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ 6 

No. 44. SE. 1 NE. \ sec. 26. 

Shale, brown, sandy, carbonaceous_ 7 

Coal, fair ; contains a few thin laminae of shale_ 5 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous, sandy, with a few thin lenses 

of coal__ 2 0 

Coal, weathered_ 11 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ 6+ 

/ 

No. 47. SE. 1 SW. 1 sec. 35. 

Shale, sandy, with thin lenses of coal_ G 

Coal, dull, with a little carbonaceous shale_ 7 

Coal, fair_ 4 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ Id- 


Coal bed_ 11 


The correlation of all these sections with bed G is rather indefinite 
because of the lenticular character of the thinner coal beds in this 
part of the field. At location 44 bed G is broken by a 2-foot shale 
parting which renders the bed practically worthless for mining, but 
at location 45 the bed is more valuable, as shown by the section in 
Plate VIII. At location 48 it contains 1 foot 9J inches of poor coal. 
Bed G at the last place measured (location 50, in sec. 33) is thicker 
(see PI. VIII) than at any other point examined in the township, the 
principal bench being 3 feet 9 inches thick, with a minor bench above. 

Bed II -—The coal in bed H was measured at nine places in this 
township—at locations 51 to 59—but only three of the coal sections 
(Nos. 53, 55, and 59) are shown graphically in Plate VIII. The 
others are described below. The maximum thickness is 3 feet at 
location 53. At location 51, in sec. 13, there is only 6 inches of coal 
overlain and underlain by sandstone, and at location 52 the bed con¬ 
tains 7^ inches of coal overlain and underlain by brown carbona¬ 
ceous shale. The bed at location 53, in the NE. J sec. 26, contains 
















52 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 


approximately 3 feet of weathered coal overlain and underlain by 
sandstone, but this measurement may be incomplete. At location 54, 
in the E. | sec. 26, 1 foot 1 inch of coal, overlain by yellowish-gray 
sandstone and underlain by brown carbonaceous shale, is exposed 
on bed H, but at location 55, a short distance to the south, the bed 
is a little thicker, containing 1 foot 4 inches of coal, overlain and 
underlain by shale. The coal bed at location 56, in sec. 35, is as 
follows: 


Section of coal bed II at location 50, in the SE. i NE. ^ see. 35, 


T. 22 8., R. 6 E. 


Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ 

Coal, much weathered, bony at top_ 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ 

Coal, impure, slightly slialy_ 

Shale, dark, weathers gray_ 

Coal, weathered, stained yellow in places 
Bone, containing thin lenses of coal_ 


Ft. in. 
1 
9 

O 

O 

4 

4 

11 

2 0 


Coal bed_ 2 7 

Total coal_ 2 0 


The coal at this place is of little economic importance, owing to 
the partings. At location 57, in sec. 35, 1 foot 2 inches of coal, 
overlain and underlain by brown carbonaceous shale, is exposed on 
bed H, and at location 58, in the same section, 1 foot 2 inches of 
coal is exposed, the upper part of which is slightly shaly. The floor 
and roof of the bed are brown carbonaceous shale. At location 59, 
in sec. 34, bed H contains 1 foot 8 inches of good coal, overlain and 
underlain by brown carbonaceous shale. Owing to the lenticular 
character of the coal at this horizon, exact correlations are rather 
difficult to make, but it is believed that the above-described sections 
are all on coal bed H. 

Bed I .—Coal bed I was measured in this township at 18 locations, 
designated by Nos. 60 to 77, which are arranged in order from 
north to south along the outcrop. All the sections are shown graph¬ 
ically in Plate VIII, except Xo. 77, which is described below. The 
bed ranges in thickness from 1 foot at location 77 to 20 feet at loca¬ 
tion 75. The Moore mine, at location 60, in sec. 13, is the eastern¬ 
most point at which bed T is exposed. About a quarter of a mile 
northwest of location 60 bed I was measured at two points in what 
is known as the Williams mine. (See PI. XI, A , p. 84.) Coal sec¬ 
tion 61 gives the thickness of the coal at the mouth of the entry, 
and section 62 shows its thickness at the back end of the entry, about 
200 feet S. 60° E. from location 61. The variation of the bed within 
a short distance is very striking, as is Avell illustrated by the graphic 
sections (Nos. 61 and 62, PI. VIII). Near the mouth of the mine 












THE COAL. 


53 


the joints of the coal are filled with films of gypsum and sulphur. 
A sample was collected at location 62, and the analysis (laboratory 
No. 12613) is given in the table on page 80. Sections 63, 61, and 65, 
all measured less than a mile south of the Williams mine, suggest 
that bed I increases in thickness toward the south. At location 66, in 
sec. 13, only 4 feet 9 inches of coal is exposed, which is 3 feet less 
than the bed contains at location 65, a quarter of a mile to the north. 
Coal sections 6T and 68 show an apparent increase in thickness 
toward the south. Bed I rapidly deteriorates in value from loca¬ 
tion 69 toward location Tl, on account of an increase in the thickness 
and number of partings and a decrease in the thickness of the coal. 
At location 72 it is of more value than at location 71, containing 3 
feet of coal in one bench, overlain by shale and underlain bv clay. 
The coal section at location 73, which is probably on bed I, seems to 
indicate that the bed is of little commercial importance toward the 
south, but at location 74, a short distance south of location 73, the 
bed has about the same thickness as at locations 66 and 67. It main¬ 
tains this thickness for some distance along the outcrop, but at loca¬ 
tion 75, in sec. 33, at the Browning mine, it contains approximately 
20 feet of coal, overlain ancl underlain by brown shale. This is 
the greatest thickness observed for any one bed in the Emery field. 
A sample for analysis (laboratory No. 12627, p. 80) was collected 
from the lower 12 feet of coal, which is the only part of the bed mined 
at this place. Bed I was measured at location 76, in sec. 33, but con¬ 
tains very much less coal here than at the Browning mine. It is 
only a little over 3 feet thick at location 76, as indicated in 
Plate VIII. Possibly the section measured at location 76 may repre¬ 
sent a coal bed either slightly above or below bed I, as there has been 
considerable burning between locations 75 and 76. At location 77, 
in sec. 34, bed I is probably represented by only 1 foot of coal, over- 
lain by clay of varying colors and underlain by gravish-brown sand¬ 
stone. It is quite probable that the variegated claylike material 
overlying the coal is in large part ash, and the total thickness under 
cover may compare very favorably with that measured at the Brown¬ 
ing mine (location 75). About a third of a mile northeast of the 
Browning mine, in sec. 33, there is an old entrv on bed I which was 
partly filled with water at the time of the field examination. The 
coal was not measured at this place, but it is believed to be approxi¬ 
mately as thick here as at the Browning mine. 

Bed J .—Bed J was measured at only three locations (Nos. 78, 79. 
and 80) in this township. At location 78 it contains 2 feet 3 inches 
of coal in two benches, separated by 1 foot 2 inches of brown shale, 
beginning 10 inches below the top of the bed, as shown in Plate VIII. 


54 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 


The roof and floor of the bed are shale. At location 79, in sec. 33, the 
following section was measured: 


Section of coal bed J at location 70, in the NE. SE. 1 sec. 33, T. 22 S., R. 6 E. 


Sandstone, argillaceous 
Coal, slightly shaly 

Shale, brown_ 

Coal_ 

Shale, brown and gray_ 


Ft. 


1 


in. 

5 


o 

4 


€* t 
02 


10 


Coal bed_ 2 \ 

Total coal_ S£ 


At location 80, in sec. 33, 1 foot 3 inches of coal is exposed on bed 
J, which is overlain by sandstone and underlain by clay. At this 
place bed J is 8 feet stratigraphically above bed I. 

Bed K ,—Bed K is believed to be represented in this township by 
only one measurement, in sec. 35, where 8 inches of coal is exposed at 
this horizon. 

Bed L .—Bed L was measured at only one place in this township, 
where the section is as follows: 


Section of coal bed L at location 82, in the SW. 1 NW. $ sec. 33, T. 22 S., R. 6 E . 


Ft. in. 

Sandstone, yellow and brown_ 10 0 

Coal, with thin lenses of shale___ 4 

Shale_ 4 

Coal_ 1 0 

Shale, gray and brown__ 4 0 


Coal bed_ 1 8 

Total coal_ 1 4 


In many places in this township correlation of the coal sections is 
very definite, but in others it is rather doubtful, owing to the facts 
that some of the beds are thin and lenticular and that u burning 
and talus cover have obscured the outcrops. It is believed that the 
correlations given above are as nearly correct as it is possible to 
make without drilling. 

T. 22 S., R. 7 E. 

In T. 22 S., R. 7 E., 34 sections were measured—Nos. 84 to 97 on 
coal bed C, 98 to 109 on bed F, and 110 to 117 on bed I. 

Bed C .—Bed C ranges in thickness from 5 inches at location 89 
to 8 feet 5 inches at location 87. Seven of the measurements made on 
bed C (Nos. 85, 80, 87, 88, 90, 91, and 92) are shown graphically on 
Plate VIII. The others are given in detail below: 



















THE COAL. 


55 


Section of coal bed C at location 8' h in the NE. ± SW. £ sec. 30, T. 22 8., R. 7 E. 

Ft. in. 


Sandstone, massive: weathers gray___ 10+ 

Coal___ 4 

Sandstone_'_ 

Coal___ l o 

Sandstone _ 4 


Coal bed_ 1 6^ 

Total coal_ 1 4 


The coal at locations 85 and 86 is between 5 and 7 feet thick, but at 
location 87 the bed shows a marked increase in the amount of coal 
and also in the number of thin shale partings. At location 88, in 
lot 1, sec. 19, a short distance west of location 87, the total thickness 
of the coal bed is practically the same as at location 87, but the char¬ 
acter and arrangement of the benches are entirely different, as indi¬ 
cated on Plate VIII. 

Coal sections at- locations 89 to 97, inclusive, in the northeastern 
part of the township, are correlated with bed C, because they seem 
to be at the same horizon as bed C elsewhere. At location 89 the 
bed contains only 5 inches of coal, overlain by sandstone and under- 
lain by shale, but at locations 90, 91, and 92 the thickness ranges 
from 1 foot 8 inches to 2 feet 2 inches, being greatest at location 91. 
(See PI. VIII.) At location 93, in sec. 10, 1 foot 1 inch of coal is 
exposed on bed C, but at location 94, in the same section, only 7 
inches of weathered coal is exposed. Sandstone overlies and shale 
underlies the bed at locations 93 and 94. At location 95 the following 
section was measured: 

Section of coal bed at C at location 05, in the NE. \ XE. ^ sec. 10, T. 22 S., R. 7 E. 


Sandstone, gray. inches. 

Coal_ 3 

Shale, black carbonaceous_ 1 

Coal, slightly bony- 7 

Shale, black carbonaceous- 10 


Coal bed_ 11 

Total coal_1- 10 


At location 96, in sec. 10, 1 foot 3 inches of coal was measured, 
and at location 97, in sec. 3, the bed is only 11 inches thick. The bed 
at each location is overlain by sandstone and underlain by shale. 

Bed F .—In the southwestern part of this township bed F was 
measured at 12 places, which are indicated on the map (Pb X) and 
on the plate of coal sections (PI. VIII) by Nos. 98 to 109, inclusive. 
The character of the floor and roof and the thickness and character 
of the bed in this township are well shown in the graphic sections. 

















56 GEOLOGY AXD COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

Bed F in this region is reasonably constant in thickness, ranging from 
1 foot 9 inches at location 105 to 4 feet 10 inches at location 109, and 
is only locally split by partings. At location 103 the coal occurs in 
two benches, the lower of which probably is the same as the lower 
bench at location 104 and is of no economic importance. The upper 
bench contains 2 feet 3 inches of coal. 

Bed /.—The identification of bed I in this township is uncertain, 
although coal sections measured at locations 110 to 117, in secs. 7 and 
18, are tentatively correlated with bed I for the reason that they 
occur at about the same stratigraphic position as bed I elsewhere 
throughout the field. In this township the bed varies in thickness 
from 10 inches at location 115 to 1 foot 7 inches at location 112. At 
the Cox prospect, location 110, it contains 1 foot 4 inches of coal, 
overlain by sandstone and underlain by shale. Bed I in this locality 
is definitely known to be lenticular because it is entirely replaced by 
massive yellowish-gray sandstone a short distance east of this pros¬ 
pect. Eleven inches of coal, overlain and underlain by brown car¬ 
bonaceous shale, is exposed at location 111. The coal bed at location 
112 is shown graphically on Plate VIII. In the NE. J SE. £ 
sec. 7, at location 113, 1 foot 1 inch of coal with shale floor and roof 
is exposed. At location 115, 10 inches of coal is exposed, and at loca¬ 
tion 116, in sec. 18, 1 foot 1 inch of coal, overlain by sandstone and 
underlain by shale, is exposed on the south side of a road leading 
east from Emery. Bed I contains about 1 foot of coal at location 
117, in sec. 18, where sandstone underlies and shale overlies the coal. 


T. 23 S., R. 6 E. 

Thirteen coal beds are exposed in T. 23 S., R. 6 E., and 120 meas¬ 
urements of the thickness of the coal in the different beds were made. 
The following table shows the number of sections obtained on each 
bed: 

Coal beds exposed in T. 23 S., R. 6 E. 





Coal 


Coal 




sections. 


sections. 

M 

— 


233-237 

F 

153-159, 162 16S 

L 



219-232 

E 


K 



_ _ 216-218 

D 

- - — 148,150,151 

.T_ 



204-215 

G 

133-138, 140-148, 160, 161 

I 



180-203 

B 

132,139, 149 

H 



169,177-179 

A 

_ _ 118-131 

G 



170-176 




The usual order of the description of coal in each township, namely, 
bv beds from the north side of the township along the outcrop to the 
south side, is varied for this township, the beds south of I vie Creek, 
except bed I, being described before those north of that stream. 

















THE COAL. 


57 


Bed A .—The thickness of bed A was measured at 14 places in 
this township, designated on the map (PL X) by Xos. 118 to 131. 
All these sections except Nos. 119 and 127 are shown graphically on 
Plate 4 III. The bed ranges in thickness from 1 foot 11 inches at 
location 124 to 10 feet 1 inch at location 118. The overlying sand¬ 
stone at locations 118 and 120 forms an excellent roof. At location 
119, in sec. 16, no coal is exposed on bed A, but its horizon could be 
definitely traced by a streak of brown shale and sandy clay at a 
distance of 15 feet above the lowermost massive sandstone scarp. At 
location 121. in sec. 17, coal is exposed on what is believed to be bed 
A. but the bed is very much broken at this place and closely re¬ 
sembles, in the number of partings, the coal bed at location 118. The 
roof is brown carbonaceous shale grading upward into sandy shale 
and that into sandstone. At location 122, in sec. 17, the bed con¬ 
tains 6 feet 8 inches of coal in three benches. At location 124, in sec. 
20. it contains only 1 foot 4 inches of coal in two benches, separated 
bv 7 inches of carbonaceous shale. The correlation of coal section 

t ' 

124 with others here referred tombed A is doubtful on account of the 
greatly reduced thickness of the coal, but its stratigraphic distance 
aboA^e the lower sandstone scarp indicates that it is at the horizon of 
bed A. as heretofore stated. At location 127, in the NE. J NW. J 
sec. 21. bed A consists mainly of carbonaceous shale interbedded 
with some coal. The bed is about 8 feet thick, of which about 24 
feet is coal in several thin layers. 

Bed B .—The coal that is assigned to bed B was measured in this 
township at only three places, locations 132 and 149, in sec. 17, and 
139, in sec. 21. At location 132 the bed contains 1 foot 8 inches of 
coal, overlain by shale and underlain bv sandstone, and at location 
139 it contains 1 foot 9 inches of coal in two benches, separated by a 
1-inch shale parting 5 inches below the top of the bed. At location 
149, in the NW. J SE. d sec. 17, the bed is represented by only 9 
inches of coal, overlain by carbonaceous shale and underlain by 
yellowish-gray bone. 

Bed C .—Bed C was measured at 17 places in this township, indi¬ 
cated on the map (PI. X) by Nos. 133 to 138, 140 to 148, 160, and 161. 
All the sections are shown graphically on Plate VIII, except 
No. 147. If the suggested correlation is correct, bed C in sec. 20 
is probably lenticular and of little value. At location 134 a lens of 
coal of undetermined extent is of workable thickness, but at location 
136 the coal is impure and of no immediate importance. Between 
locations 137 and 140, in secs. 21 and 28, the sections measured at 
the outcrop indicate that the bed is comparatively free from part¬ 
ings and constant in thickness, ranging from 1 foot 10 inches to 
2 feet 6 inches or more except at locations 160 and 161, where an 


58 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

unusual amount of coal is present. The upper 1 foot 3 inch bench at 
location 161 possibly corresponds to the bed as represented by coal 
sections 137, 138, and 140. At location 141, on an outlier in sec. 34, 
bed C contains 6 feet of coal in two benches, which is more than 
double the thickness of coal at any location on this bed in this town¬ 
ship previously described, except 134. 

In the northern part of the township bed C contains generally 
more coal than is exposed in the southern part. Between locations 
142, in sec. 11, and 145, in sec. 3, the bed ranges from about 6 to 
9| feet, including partings which, though usually thin, separate 
the bed into two or more benches. These partings will probably 
give no serious trouble in mining. If locations 145 and 146 are at 
the same horizon, bed C increases in thickness very rapidly west¬ 
ward from location 145. The section at location 146, about a quar¬ 
ter of a mile distant, shows more than double the amount of coal 
exposed at location 145. Bed C in secs. 16 and 17 is extremely len¬ 
ticular in its occurrence according to sections measured at locations 
147 and 148. At location 147 no coal is exposed at the horizon of 
this bed, but only a carbonaceous shale band, whereas at location 148, 
a mile to the west, 13 feet 4 inches of coal in three benches is ex¬ 
posed on bed C. (See PI. VIII.) 

Bed D .—Bed D was measured at locations 148, 150, and 151, in 
sec. 3. At location 150 the bed contains 12 feet 6 inches of coal in 
six benches, and at location 151 it contains only 11 feet 1 inch in five 
benches. The arrangement of the benches and partings between 
them is shown graphically on Plate VIII. Only 1 foot 6 inches of 
coal is contained in bed D at location 148. 

Bed E .—Location 152, in sec. 3, is the only place at which bed E 
was measured in this township. It contains only 10J inches of coal 
overlain and underlain by shale. 

Bed F .—Bed F was measured at 14 places in this township, shown 
on the map (PL X) by Nos. 153 to 159 and 162 to 168. Plate VIII 
gives the coal sections measured at these locations, except Nos. 153, 
155, and 168. This coal is of little value along the outcrop through 
the western part of sec. 20 and through sec. 29, as may be inferred 
from the following coal sections: At location 153, in sec. 20, 1 foot 1 
inch of coal on bed F contains several thin bands of shale; at loca¬ 
tion 154, near the center of sec. 29, the bed contains 1 foot 10 inches 
of coal (see PI. VIII) ; and at location 155, near the north line of 
sec. 29, it contains only 8 inches of coal with a floor and roof of 
brown shale. Bed F along its outcrop through the eastern part of 
sec. 20, through sec. 21, and a small portion of sec. 28, at locations 156 
to 159. contains a much greater thickness of coal (from 84 to 94 feet) 
than is exposed at any other places examined in this township. (See 
PI. VIII.) The total thickness of coal south of location 162 is 


THE COAL. 


59 


greatly reduced by the splitting of the bed into two benches, the 
lower of which, according to the exposures, is of very little economic 
importance. 

r I he exposures in secs. 3 and 4 suggest that bed F is very lenticular. 
At location 167, 2 feet 10 inches of coal is exposed in one bench, 
whereas at location 168, a few hundred feet to the west, only 6 inches 
of coal is exposed. The bed is overlain by shale and underlain by 
sandstone. 

Bed G .—Bed G was examined at seven exposures in this township. 
The locations are shown on the map (PI. X) and the sections are 
shown graphically on Plate VIII by Nos. 170 to 176. 

At locations 170 and 171, near the line between secs. 29 and 32, 
bed G contains about 1| feet of coal, but at location 172, near the 
center of sec. 29, it contains only 7 inches of coal, overlain and under¬ 
lain by carbonaceous shale. At location 173, near the north line of sec. 
29, bed G contains 2 feet 1 inch of coal in two benches. As may be 
inferred from the coal sections above given, bed G in secs. 29 and 32 
is of little value, being very lenticular. No exposures were seen on 
the bed between locations 174 in sec. 3 and 173 in sec. 29, probably 
owing to poor exposures along the outcrop between those places. 
At locations 174 to 176, inclusive, in secs. 3 and 4 (see PI. VIII), 
this bed is more constant in thickness and more persistent in occur¬ 
rence than it is farther south. 

Bed II .—The coal in bed H in this township was measured at loca¬ 
tions 169, 177, 178, and 179, secs. 17, 20, and 29. The coal sections 
are shownj graphically on Plate VIII. According to these sections, 
the bed shows a slight tendency to increase in thickness toward the 
south. It ranges from 1 foot 4 inches at location 177 to 3 feet 3 
inches at location 169. No other exposures at this horizon were found, 
so that little is known of the occurrence of the bed in this township. 

Bed I .—Bed I in this township was measured at 24 places, which 
are represented on the map (PI. X) by Nos. 180 to 203. As may be 
inferred by a careful study of the graphic sections (PI. VIII), bed 
I is very lenticular and exhibits very abrupt changes in thickness 
even between near-by sections. The range in thickness is from 1 
foot 3 inches at location 180 to 14 feet 11 inches at location 198. At 
location 180, in sec. 3, the coal is overlain by gray clay shale and 
underlain by brown shale which contains streaks of coal. At loca¬ 
tion 181, in sec. 2, 5 feet 5 inches of coal, overlain and underlain by 
carbonaceous shale, is exposed on bed I. This section was measured 
near the Emery mine (abandoned), which at the time of the examina¬ 
tion was closed by caving. A sample for analysis (laboratory No. 
2386) was collected at the Emery mine by J. A. TafF. 1 

1 Taff, J. A., Book Cliffs coal field, Utah, west of Green River : U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 
285, p. 294, 1900. 




60 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

The measurements in this southern half of secs. 2 and 3 at locations 
181, 182, 186, and 18T and in sec. 8 at location 188, all of which are 
believed to be on bed I, suggest a nearly east-west zone where the 
coal is at least tAvice as thick as it is on either the north or the south. 
South of secs. 3, 4, and 8, according to coal sections that are supposed 
to be on bed I, the coal is much thinner (at locations 183, 184, 185, 
and 189) as far south as the south line of secs. 16 and IT. Southward 
from this line, however, a thin lens of coal on bed I is separated from 
a comparatively thick one (see Pis. VIII and X) by Dog Creek, a 
southern tributary of I vie Creek, flowing through secs. 31, 32, 29,21,20, 
and 16. In making the above tentatXe suggestion it is assumed that 
the correlation shoAvn on Plate VIII is correct, but this is questionable 
at several locations, owing mainly to the abrupt changes in the thick¬ 
ness of the coal and to poor exposures between places examined. 
The correlation of the sections referred to bed I is based on the rela¬ 
tion of the outcrops to other known traceable beds. 

It is also possible that the entire thickness of coal on bed I is not 
exposed at locations 183, 184, and 185. At location 193, in sec. 20, 
coal “bloom” was exposed about 6 feet below the base of bed I, but 
it was not possible to determine the source of this “bloom." The 
difference in the thickness of coal between sections at locations 194, 
in sec. 20, and 195, in sec. 29, is due to a change in thickness of the 
bed, as there is no doubt about the correlation of these sections. 
South of location 196 bed I is concealed by alluvial deposits for a 
distance of a mile or more. The next measurement of the bed was 
made at a good exposure at location 19T, in sec. 32. A sample of 
coal for analysis (laboratory No. 14903, p. 80) was collected from 
this surface exposure. 

Tavo thin coal beds (8 inches and 4 inches thick) crop out at 
distances of IT and 28 feet, respectively, aboA^e bed I at location 199, 
in sec. 32. The 8-incli bed probably should be correlated with coal 
bed J. The southernmost section showing the full thickness of coal 
on bed I in this township Avas measured at location 203, in sec. 21. 
The scarcity of measurements in this vicinity is due mainly to a lack 
of exposures at this horizon. A 1 foot 1 inch bed of coal is exposed 
at location 199, on the south side of a knoll near the south quarter 
corner of sec. 28, and is belieA^ed to represent the loAver bench of 
bed I, the upper bench not being represented. 

Bed J .—Bed J Avas measured at 12 places in this township, the 
locations of which are designated by Nos. 204 to 215. It is of little 
economic importance, being thin (ranging from a feAv inches of shale 
containing thin bands of coal at location 210 to 2 feet 4 inches of coal 
at location 206) and locally split by shale partings into tAvo or more 
benches. Coni sections at locations 206 to 209, 211, and 215 are 
shown on Plate VIII; the others are fully described below. 


THE COAL. 


61 


At location 204, in sec. 2, bed J, which is 1 foot 1 inch thick, is 
overlain by T feet 8 inches of sandstone and shale, which in turn are 
overlain by a local lens of coal only 7^ inches thick. The strati¬ 
graphic distance between beds I and J at this point is 7 feet. The 
scarcity of sections on this coal bed is due partly to its lenticular 
character, partly to the extensive burning of the underlying coal 
bed (bed I), and partly to the presence of hill wash that covers the 
outcrop of the bed in places. 

Little is known of this bed between locations 204 and 206, except 
at location 205, where it contains 1 foot 1 inch of coal in one bench, 
overlain and underlain bv shale. 

Between locations 206, in sec. 17, and 209, in sec. 20, the exposures 
are not so far apart and the graphic sections probably represent 
about the true thickness of coal. At location 210, in sec. 29, bed J 
is made up of brown shale containing thin bands of coal and bone 
and is of no economic importance* Practically nothing is known of 
the thickness of the coal along the outcrop between locations 210, in 
sec. 29, and 215, in sec. 32, a distance of about 44 miles. Much of the 
coal between these points has been burned along its outcrop, and to 
this is probably due the scarcity of the exposures. The coal sections 
at locations 211 to 214, inclusive, were measured along the outcrop 
around an isolated tract in secs. 20, 21, and 29. The thickest of these 
four sections is at location 211, in sec. 29, where the coal is 1 foot 10 
inches thick. The coal seems to be thinner toward the north and 
east from location 211. The bed contains 1 foot 2 inches of coal, 
underlain and overlain by shale, at location 212, in sec. 20; 9 inches 
of coal, with roof and floor of carbonaceous shale, at location 213, in 
sec. 21; and only 7 inches, with shale above and below the coal, at 
location 214, in sec. 29. As these measurements are well distributed 
and nearly surround the isolated tract, they suggest that probably 
bed J is of very little economic importance under this small area. 

Bed K .—Three measurements on bed K were obtained in this town¬ 
ship, the locations of which are shown on Plate X by Nos. 216 to 218. 
At location 216, in sec. 9, the bed contains 1 foot 2 inches of coal, 
with brown shale above and below it; and at locations 217, in sec. 29, 
and 218, in sec. 31, it contains only 4 inches of coal. Bed K in this 
township is thus of no economic value, as at location 216 only a very 
small area is underlain by the coal, and at locations 217 and 218 it is 
too thin to be mined. About 20 feet stratigraphically above bed K, 
at location 218, is a bed of carbonaceous shale containing a little coal. 

Bed L .—Bed L in this township was measured at 14 places, which 
are designated on Plate X by Nos. 219 to 232. Plate VIII shows the 
sections, except Nos. 219, 222, 224, 225, 226, and 230, which are de¬ 
scribed below. The range in thickness is from 64 inches at location 


62 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY y UTAH. 

219 to 4 feet at location 228. The correlation shown on Plate VIII 
is doubtful in places, but it is believed that the sections here referred 
to bed L all occur at the same stratigraphic horizon. 

Bed L in the northern part of the township, between Muddy and 
Quitchuppah creeks, underlies only a few isolated tracts. It is thin 
and much broken by partings and is of little economic importance, 
as is well shown by the following sections. At location 219, in sec. 3, 
near the horizon of bed L there are two thin beds of coal—the lower 
64 inches thick and the upper 7 inches thick—separated by about 8^ 
feet of sandstone, clay, and shale. The sections at locations 220 and 
221 are shown graphically on Plate VIII. At location 222, in 
sec. 2, 9J inches of coal on bed L is exposed in two benches separated 
by a 3-inch parting of drab shale. The bed is here overlain and 
underlain by shale. 

The section at location 223 is shown on Plate VIII, except that the 
coal in its upper part contains several pinch beds or lenses of brown 
shale. The following three measurements in the SE. J sec. 3 sug¬ 
gest that bed L is of little value in a small outlier in that vicinity. 
At location 224 it contains only 1 foot 24 inches of coal in two 
benches, separated by 1 foot 34 inches of shale. The bed is here 
overlain by shale and underlain by brown clay. At location 225 it 
contains 1 foot 1J inches of coal, overlain by clay and underlain by 
shale, and at location 226 it contains only 1 foot of coal, overlain by 
sandstone and underlain by shale. 

The exposures in the southwestern part of the township, at loca¬ 
tions 227 to 232, suggest that bed L is of more economic importance 
here than elsewhere in this township. In this area it contains from 
1 foot 6 inches to 4 feet of coal. At some places the coal is badly 
weathered and films of gypsum fill the joints and bedding planes. 
The sections are all shown on Plate VIII, except that at location 230, 
where the coal was very poorly exposed, but where, it is believed, 
from 3 to 4 feet of coal is present. The bed is here overlain by sand¬ 
stone and underlain by shale. 

Bed M .—Bed M was measured in this township at five locations, 
which are indicated on Plate X by Nos. 233 to 237. Two of the sec¬ 
tions, at locations 234 and 236, are shown graphically on Plate VIII, 
and the others are described below. At location 233, in sec. 11, 6 
inches of coal, overlain and underlain by brown carbonaceous shale, 
is believed to represent bed M. The section at location 234, in sec. 
7 (see PI. VIII), shows that the bed has materially changed in 
character and thickness from that exposed at location 233. The 
change is even more striking between the near-by sections at loca¬ 
tions 234 to 237, inclusive. At location 235, in sec. 7, the bed is 
practically worthless, consisting mainly of brown sandy carbonaceous 
shale with thin streaks of coal. At location 236, in sec. 18, it is of 



THE COAL. 


63 


more value, containing 3 feet 3 inches of coal. At location 237, in 
sec. 19, 1 foot of coal believed to represent bed M is exposed, with 
roof and floor of brown shale. 

T. 24 S., It. 5 E. 

\ 

The 8 coal beds exposed in T. 24 S., R. 5 E., was measured at 80 
places. The table below shows the beds that are present and the 
numbers of the coal sections measured. 

Coal heels exposed in T. 24 S., li. 5 E. 


Coal 

sections. 

M . 311-317 

L . 305-310 

Coal 

Sections. 

J 282-299 

I 264-281 

Coal 

sections. 

G . 246 

A 238-245 

Iv . 300-304 

H . 247-263 



Bed A .—The coal in bed A in this township has been more or less 
burned along its outcrop. The rooks overlying the coal bed south 
of the main branch of Willow Creek and north of the principal 
south branch of Willow Creek are considerablv baked, and the hori- 
zon of the bed is represented by a dark-red band along the hillside, 
whereas north of Willow Creek the burning has been so complete 
that no coal remains at the surface on bed A. South of Willow 
Creek, however, there are a few unburned wedges or remnants of 
the coal which give the probable range in thickness of the coal in this 
township. The sections measured on bed A at locations 238 to 245 
are shown graphically on Plate IX. 

South of Willow Creek bed A in this township varies greatly in 
thickness from place to place, ranging from 9 feet 10 inches at 
location 241 to 14 feet 6 inches at location 240. The coal was meas¬ 
ured in sec. 13 at location 238, where the outcrop crosses Willow 
Creek. The top of the bed at this place was not fully exposed, being 
overlain by soil, gravel, and bowlders, but it is believed that all the 
coal of value is shown graphically in the section on Plate IX. South¬ 
ward from location 238 for a distance of about a mile the exposures 
on bed A are very poor, and the next measurement was obtained at 
location 239, in sec. 24. The base of the bed was not definitely de¬ 
termined, but at least 12 feet of coal is present at this place. A thin 
streak of bony coal, not shown on Plate IX, occurs about 2 feet below 
the top of the bed at location 239. At location 240, in sec. 24, about 
a quarter of a mile south of location 239, the bed contains 14 feet 2 
inches of fairly good coal in two benches. It is believed that the 
entire bed is exposed here, which suggests that probably the two pre¬ 
vious measurements given underestimate the amount of coal in the 
bed. Near location 242, in sec. 26, the coal bed was burning at the 
time of the field examination. A sample for analysis (laboratory 
No. 15061, p. 80) was collected from the surface prospect at location 












64 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

243, in sec. 26. The sample was considerably weathered and can not 
give an adequate idea of the character of the coal under thick cover. 
Coal bed A was not measured along the outcrop toward the east, 
southeast, south, and southwest for a distance of 14 to 2 miles from 
location 244, in sec. 24, but at location 245, in sec. 25, it contains 12 
feet 9 inches of fairly good coal in two benches. South of this 
point in this township no sections were measured on this bed, but 
according to the section at location 387, in sec. 3, T. 25 S., B. 5 E., 
it contains 7 feet 2 inches of coal. This bed probably contains coal 
of workable thickness southward from location 245. 

Bed G .—Bed G was measured in this township only at location 
246, in sec. 24, where 5 inches of weathered coal, overlain and under¬ 
lain by brown shale, is exposed. 

Bed H- —Bed II was measured in this township at 17 locations, 
which are designated on the map (PI. X) by Nos. 247 to 263. Six of 
the sections are shown on Plate IX; the others are described below. 
Bed II overlies bed G in this township at a stratigraphic distance of 
approximately 50 feet. It ranges in thickness from 8 inches at loca¬ 
tion 262 to 2 feet 7 inches at location 255. The three northernmost 
exposures on this bed, at locations 247, 248, and 249, in sec. 13, show 
it to contain about 1 foot of coal. The graphic sections on Plate IX 
show the thickness and character of the bed at locations 250, in sec. 
13, and 251, in sec. 12. At location 252, in sec. 13, it contains 1 foot 
of coal, sliabtlv bonv at the base, overlain by shale and underlain by 
clay. The character and thickness of the bed at locations 253, in 
sec. 11, and 254 and 255, in sec. 14, are shown by the graphic sections 
on Plate IX. The distance between beds H and I at location 255 
is 6 feet. About two-thirds of a mile farther east, at location 256, 
in sec. 13, this bed contains 1 foot 3 inches of coal, overlain and under¬ 
lain by shale; and at location 257, in sec. 14, the coal bed is repre¬ 
sented by brown to black carbonaceous shale. About a mile south of 
location 257 bed H at locations 258 and 259, in sec. 23, contains 1 
foot 3 inches of coal, overlain by clay and underlain by shale. In the 
NE. 4 SE. 4 sec. 23, at location 260, on the west side of a deep can¬ 
yon, 1 foot of coal, overlain by clay and underlain by shale, is ex¬ 
posed on bed PI. The coal section at location 261 is shown graphi¬ 
cally on Plate IX. Near the south boundary of sec. 23, at location 
262, only 8 inches of coal is exposed on bed II which seems to be of 
little economic importance farther south and southwest. The south¬ 
ernmost place at which this bed was measured in the township is in 
the SW. 4 NW. 4 sec. 26. at location 263, where 9 inches of coal, 
overlain and underlain by shale, is exposed. 

Bed /.—Bed I was measured in this township at 18 locations, 
which are designated on the map (PL X) by Nos. 264 to 281. Part 
of the sections measured are represented graphically on Plate IX; 


THE COAL. 


65 


the others are described below. The bed throughout this township 
is less than 2 feet in thickness, except at location 272, in sec. 11, 
where it is 3 feet 6 inches thick. At location 264, in sec. 13, 1 foot of 
coal, overlain and underlain by clay, is exposed on bed I. The sec¬ 
tions measured at locations 265, 266, and 267, in sec. 13, are shown 
graphically on Plate IX. In the NE. \ NE. J sec. 13, 1 foot 1 inch 
of coal, overlain by bone and shale and underlain by shale, is be¬ 
lieved to represent bed I. The following section of this bed was made 
at location 268, in sec. 13: 

Section of coal ~bed I at location 268 in the NW. i NE. i sec. 13, T. 2J t S., R. 5 E. 


Clay, dark brown. Ft. in. 

Bone_ 2 

Coal, bony, brownish black_ 5 

Coal, weathered, stained yellow in places_ 8 

Clay, dark reddish brown___ 5± . 

Shale, dark blue. - 

Total coal_ 1 1 


Five inches of coal, overlain and underlain by dark-brown shale, 
supposed to be on bed I, is exposed at location 269, in sec. 12. The 
coal section at location 270, in sec. 12, is shown graphically on Plate 
IX. At location 271, in sec. 13, the bed contains only 9 inches of dull, 
weathered coal, which is overlain by bone and underlain by shale. 
Bed I at location 272, in sec. 11, is 3 feet 6 inches thick (see PI. IX), 
containing more coal than was seen at any other exposure on this 
bed in this township. The bed is represented by 1 foot 2 inches of 
coal, overlain and underlain by clay, at location 273, in sec. 14, on 
the south side of Willow Creek. Plate IX shows the thickness and 
character of bed I at location 274, in sec. 13. At location 275, in sec. 
14, 1 foot 2 inches of coal is exposed, and at location 276, in sec. 23, 
1 foot of weathered coal, overlain by shale and underlain by clay, 
represents the bed. At location 277, about 1,000 feet northeast of 
location 276, 1 foot of coal, overlain by clay and underlain by shale, 
is exposed on bed I. The coal section at location 278, in sec. 23, is 
shown graphically on Plate IX. The bed was measured at loca¬ 
tion 279, about a quarter of a mile farther southwest, where 1 foot 
of coal is exposed. Only 6 inches of coal is exposed at location 280, 
in sec. 23. The southernmost measurement on bed I in this township 
was made in sec. 26, at location 281, where 9 inches of coal, overlain 
by shale and underlain by dark-gray clayey sandstone, is exposed. 

Bed J .—Bed J was measured in this township at 18 locations, Nos. 
282 to 299. (See PI. X.) Most of the sections are shown graphically 
on Plate IX. The maximum thickness is 3 feet 2 inches at location 
291. At location 282, in the SE. \ NE. \ sec. 13, 9 inches of coal, 
overlain by clay and underlain by bone, is exposed on bed J. The 


21246°—Bull. 628—16-5 









66 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

sections at locations 283 to 289, in secs. 11, 12, and 13 (see Pl. IX), 
show the bed to be rather irregular in thickness (from 1 foot 3 inches 
to 2 feet 10 inches) between these points and to occur in one bench. 
The upper bed of coal exposed at locations 285 and 286 (see PI. IX) 
should probably be correlated with bed K. At location 290, in sec. 
11, 2 feet 6 inches of coal, overlain by sandstone and underlain by 
dark-brown carbonaceous shale, represents bed J. The sections at 
locations 291 in sec. 14, and 292, in sec. 13, show the bed to be thicker 
than at the locations described above. (See PI. IX.) The stratigraphic 
distance between beds I and J at location 293 is 9 feet. Bed J between 
locations 293, in sec. 14, and 296, in sec. 23, is thin and of little eco¬ 
nomic importance. At location 293 it contains 1 foot 1 inch of coal; 
at 294, 1 foot 2 inches; at 295, 1 foot; and at 296, only 9 inches. The 
roof and floor of the bed in this locality are generally shale and clay, 
respectively. The sections at locations 297, in sec. 23, to 299, in sec. 
26, inclusive (see PI. IX), show bed J to be of little economic im¬ 
portance and to deteriorate in value toward the south. It is exposed 
in two beds, neither of which is thick enough to be profitably mined. 

Bed K .—Bed K was examined in this township at locations 300 
to 304, which are indicated on the map (PI. X). Only one section 
(at location 304) is shown on Plate IX; the others are briefly 
described below. Bed K in this township lies about 11 feet strati- 
graphically above the top of bed J and reaches a maximum thickness 
of only 1 foot 7 inches at location 304. It follows that the bed in 
this township is of little economic importance. There are, however, 
two lenses of coal, probably of small lateral extent, which are of 
some value, one in the vicinity of location 302, in sec. 13, and the 
other in the vicinity of location 304, in sec. 23. At locations 300 and 
301, both in sec. 13, bed K contains 10 inches of coal. At the former 
place the roof and floor are bone and at the latter the roof is clay 
and the floor is shale. An exposure about a quarter of a mile west 
of location 301, believed to represent bed K, shows 1 foot 1 inch of 
coal having a roof and floor of carbonaceous shale. A short distance 
farther w r est 1 foot 2 inches of coal, supposedly on bed K, is exposed. 
At location 302, in sec. 13, there is 1 foot 2 inches of coal having clay 
above and bone below it. At location 303, in sec. 12, the bed con¬ 
tains only 8 inches of coal having a shale floor and roof. 

Bed L .—Bed L was measured in this township at six locations, 
designated on the map (PI. X) by Nos. 305 to 310. Three of the 
sections are shown on Plate IX. The bed in this township is approx¬ 
imately 55 feet stratigraphically above bed K and 15 feet strati- 
graphically below bed M. Bed L, like bed K, is of little economic 
importance in this township, although several exposures show a 
thickness of coal greater than 1 foot 3 inches. The sections at loca- 


THE COAL. 


67 


tions 305 and 306, both in sec. 13, show more than 1 foot 4 inches of 
coal. (See PL IX.) Two other exposures on bed L, one about 100 
to 200 feet west of location 306 and the other at location 307, in sec. 
13, each contain 11 inches of coal having a bone roof and a shale 
floor. At location 308, in sec. 23, the bed contains 1 foot of coal, the 
lower 4 inches of which is slightly bony. At location 309, in sec. 25, 
only 8 inches of coal is exposed. The bed at both locations is over- 
lain and underlain by shale. In the SE. £ SE. £ sec. 24, on the east 
side of the ridge, 5 inches of coal is exposed which is believed to rep¬ 
resent bed L. The southernmost exposure of bed L in this township 
is on the north side of Last Chance Creek, at location 310, in sec. 31, 
where 1 foot 8 inches of coal, overlain and underlain by dark-brown 
shale, is exposed. 

Bed M .—Bed M in this township was measured at seven locations, 
which are represented on the map (PL X) by Nos. 311 to 317. The 
sections at locations 311 to 314, in secs. 13, 14, and 23, are shown on 
Plate IX; the remainder are described below. The maximum thick¬ 
ness is 5 feet 2 inches, at location 313 in sec. 14. The bed is. repre¬ 
sented by 11 inches of coal, with shale above and below, at location 
315 in the SE. £ SW. £ sec. 23. At location 316, on the south fork 
of Willow Creek in the SE. £ SE. £ sec. 27, bed M is represented 
by 7 inches of bone and bony coal of no economic value. The 
southernmost place where this bed was measured in this township 
is in the SE. £ SW. £ sec. 25, at location 317, where 1 foot 1 inch 
of coal, overlain by clay and underlain by sandstone, is exposed. 
Overlying the bed at this place there is approximately 70 feet of the 
lower part of the shale above the Ferron sandstone. 


T. 24 S., R. 6 E. 

Beds A, C, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, and M are represented in T. 24 
S., K. 6 E., by a total of 53 measurements, designated on the map 
(Pl. X) by locations 318 to 370. All the sections containing more 
than 1 foot 4 inches of coal are shown graphically on Plate IX by 
corresponding numbers. The following table indicates the numbers 
of the sections measured on each bed: 


Coal beds exposed in T. 24 8., R. 6 E. 

Coal 
sections. 


M_ 370 

L_ 366-369 

K_ 364-365 

J_ 356-363 


Coal 

sections. 

I_ 347-355 

H_ 342-346 

G_ 338-341 

F_ 333-337 


Coal 

sections. 

C_ 328-332 

A_ 318-327 


Bed A .—Bed A, which is the lowest one in the section, was meas¬ 
ured in this township at 10 locations, which are represented on Plate 
X by N ->s. 318 to 327. The details of the sections are shown graphi- 














68 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

cally on Plate IX. The bed ranges in thickness from 1 foot 5 inches 
at location 325 to 13 feet 5 inches at location 319. A good example 
of the apparent abrupt change in thickness of bed A is furnished 
by coal sections 131 (PI. VIII) and 318 (PI. IX). The former 
section, showing 2 feet 3 inches of coal, was measured in sec. 33, 
T. 23 S., R. 6 E., and the latter, showing 8 feet 1 inch of coal, was 
measured in lot 8, sec. 5, T. 24 S., R. 6 E., only about 1 mile distant. 
There appears to be no constant rate of change in bed A in any par¬ 
ticular direction. At location 319, in lot 9, sec. 4, east of location 
318, the bed attains its greatest thickness (13 feet 5 inches) observed 
in this township. Less than half as much coal (5 feet 1 inch) is 
exposed at location 320, in lot 14, sec. 5, whereas at location 321, in 
lot 16, sec. 6, 9 feet 6 inches is exposed. Southwestward from loca¬ 
tion 321, however, to location 327, in sec. 18, the bed is much thinner 
and is badly split by partings at locations 322, 323, and 324. At 
various places along the north side of Willow Creek valley, in sec. 
18, the horizon of bed A is marked by a considerable thickness of 
baked clay which locally contains some slag or fused material. When 
the thickness of coal in bed A at location 238, in the SW. \ XW. J 
sec. 13, T. 24 S., R. 5 E., is compared with the sections last given 
above, it seems doubtful if the entire thickness of the coal bed is 
exposed at locations 322 to 327. It is believed from a careful study 
of the coal in this localitv that bed A is valuable for several miles 
along the outcrop southward from Ivie Creek and probably is of 
some value as far south as Last Chance Creek. If it may be assumed 
that bed A is continuous and fairly constant in thickness, the sec¬ 
tions measured at locations 322 to 327 probably represent only a 
part of bed A or possibly a “ split ” from it. The bed probably 
underlies portions of lots 3 and 4, in sec. 19, for at locations 244 
and 245, in secs. 24 and 25, respectively, T. 24 S., R. 5 E., only a 
short distance to the west, bed A contains 12 to 14 feet of coal. 

Bed C .—Coal sections 328 to 332 (see PI. IX) represent bed C in 
this township and are arranged on Plate X in order from north to 
south along the outcrop. This bed at location 328, in sec. 8, con¬ 
tains 10 inches of coal, overlain by shale and clay and underlain by 
clay. The bed is variable in thickness and is badly split by partings 
in secs. 7, 8, and 18, as is shown graphically on Plate IX by sections 
329 to 331. The greatest thickness is 7 feet 4 inches, at location 332, 
in sec. 18. Bed C in this locality is 35 feet stratigraphically above 
bed A. 

Bed F .—Bed F was measured in this township at five locations, 
which are designated on Plate X by Nos. 333 to 337. The sections 
at locations 335 to 337 are shown graphically on Plate IX. The bed 
is of little economic importance in this township, as the benches of 
coal are thin and the intervening partings unusually thick, except 


THE COAL. 


69 


at location 337, where the bed is possibly of value, being 3 feet 6 
inches thick, including partings. The section measured at location 
333 is as follows: 


Section of thin coal beds at the horizon of bed F at location 333, in lot 1, sec. 5, 

T. 24 S., R. 6 E. 


Ft. in. 

Sandstone, massive, yellowish gray; contains clay- 

ball concretions_ 30+ 

Coal, blocky_ 6 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ 2 0 

Shale, brown to black ; contains thin streaks of coal_ 2 0 

Coal, impure, of variable thickness_ 8± 

Sandstone, argillaceous and carbonaceous, brown at 
top; becomes less argillaceous and thin bedded near 

bottom_ 7 0 

Clay, drab, grading down into brown shale_ 1 10 

Coal, bright_ 7 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ 6+ 


The base of the section at location 333 is about 60 feet above the 
top of bed A at location 318. An outcrop of bed G, near location 
340, in sec. 5, shows that bed F contains only brown carbonaceous 
shale. The distance between beds F and G at this place is 42 feet. 
At location 334, in lot 15, sec. 6, about 4 miles along the outcrop but 
approximately 1J miles in a straight line southwest from location 
333, bed F contains only 8 inches of coal, having a brown carbona¬ 
ceous shale floor and roof. The distance between beds F and A at 
location 334 is 55 feet, as compared with 60 feet at location 333. The 
sections at locations 335 to 337 (see PI. IX) shows the thickness and 
the character of the coal and the character of the floor and roof of 
bed F in secs. 7, 8, and 18. 

Bed G .—Bed G is represented in this township by coal sections 338 
to 341, which are described below. Three benches of coal aggre¬ 
gating 2 feet 8 inches are exposed at location 338, in lot 10, sec. 4. 
The thickness of each bench of coal and the thickness and character 
of the partings are shown on Plate IX. Coal section 339, measured 
in lot 9, sec. 4, contains 2 feet 3 inches of coal in two benches, sepa¬ 
rated by 4 inches of brown shale that begins 9 inches below the top 
of the bed. Brown carbonaceous shale both overlies and underlies the 
coal. Bed G at this place is approximately 90 feet stratigraphically 
above the top of bed A (PI. IX, coal section 319). At location 340, 
in lot 11, sec. 5, 11 inches of coal, overlain by clay and underlain by 
brown shale, represents bed G, which is 65 feet below the base of bed 
I (PL IX, coal section 349). At location 341, in lot 10, sec. 5, 1 foot 
1 inch of coal, overlain and underlain by brown carbonaceous shale, 
represents bed G, and this is the southernmost measurement obtained 
on this bed in this township. 










70 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

Bed H .—Bed H in this township was measured at five exposures, 
which are designated on Plate X by Nos. 342 to 346. The exposures 
at locations 342 to 345 are all in sec. 6, and the character and thick¬ 
ness of the coal are shown on Plate IX. Southward from sec. 6 
the bed was examined in the NE. J SW. \ sec. 18, near the east end 
of a high ridge, where it contains only 9 inches of coal, having a 
shale floor and roof. The southernmost exposure examined in this 
township is at location 346, in sec. 18, where there is 1 foot 3 inches 
of coal, overlain by clay and underlain by shale. 

The stratigraphic distance between beds H and A at location 347, 
in sec. 4, is 210 feet. 

Bed I .—Coal bed I and the associated rocks were examined at 
nine locations, which are designated on Plate X by Nos. 347 to 355. 
All these sections except Nos. 350, 352, and 354 are shown graphically 
on Plate IX. This coal bed, if the correlation of the exposures here 
suggested is correct, is in this township extremely variable in thick¬ 
ness, as well as in the number and arrangement of the benches. The 
graphic sections show very well its variable character. The coal bed 
in secs. 4 and 5, at locations 347 to 349, seems to be relatively con¬ 
stant in thickness, except for the lower two benches at location 348 
(see PI. IX), which may represent a split from bed I or a local lens of 
small lateral extent. Bed I in the vicinity of location 356 (on bed J), 
in sec. 5, is represented by a band of carbonaceous shale. Toward the 
west, in sec. 6, at locations 350 to 353, it is of no economic value. At 
location 350, in lot 10, sec. 6, an exposure believed to represent bed I 
contains only 4 inches of coal, having a carbonaceous shale floor and 
roof. The section at location 351 is shown on Plate IX. At location 
352, in the center of sec. 6, the bed contains 1 foot 3 inches of coal 
having a roof and floor of carbonaceous shale, but at location 353, 
only a few hundred feet to the southeast, there is only 3 inches of 
coal. (See PL IX.) No exposure was examined on bed I between 
the SE. J sec. 6 and the SW. J sec. 18. At location 354, in the N. J 
SW. i sec. 18, this bed contains 11 inches of coal, having a carbona¬ 
ceous shale roof and floor. The section at location 355 is shown on 
Plate IX. 

Bed J .—Bed J in this township was measured by eight locations 
(PI. X, Nos. 356 to 363), and all the sections except Nos. 361 to 363 
are shown graphically on Plate IX. The exposures examined occur 
in secs. 5 and 6, except one at location 363, in sec. 18. The bed is of 
value along its outcrop from location 356 to a point between loca¬ 
tions 359 and 360, but eastward and southward from location 360 it 
is of no economic value in this township. At location 361, in the 
NW. i SE. I sec. 6, the horizon of bed J is represented by a highly 
carbonaceous dark-brown shale 1 foot 6 inches thick. In the NW. J 
SE. J sec. 6, at location 362, 10 inches of coal, overlain by sandstone 


THE COAL. 


71 


and underlain by clay, is exposed at the horizon of the bed. The 
southernmost measurement on bed J in this township was made at 
location 363, in the NW. J SW. J sec. 18, where it contains 1 foot 
2 inches of coal, overlain and underlain by dark carbonaceous shale. 
The stratigraphic distance between beds J and I in the vicinity of 
location 356 is 20 feet, whereas the corresponding distance in the 
vicinity of location 357 is only 6 feet 6 inches. 

Bed K .—Bed K in this township was measured at three exposures, 
two of which are designated on the map (PL X) by Nos. 364 and 365. 
At location 364, in lot 10, sec. 6, it contains 1 foot 2 inches of coal, 
overlain and underlain by brown shale. In the NW. \ SW. J sec. 18, 
10 inches of coal, overlain by shale and sandstone and underlain by 
bone and sandstone, is believed to represent bed K. At location 365, 
also in the NW. 1 SW. 1 sec. 18, 8 inches of coal, overlain and under¬ 
lain by bony shale, is exposed. 

Bed L .—Bed L was measured at four places in this township 
(PI. X, location 366 to 369). The sections are shown graphically 
on Plate IX. The outcrop of bed L incloses an isolated tract in 
secs. 4 and 5 (see PI. X), and the bed at the exposures examined 
contains about 3 feet of coal. The other exposures examined on 
bed L are so far apart that little can be said about the character and 
thickness of the coal between them. Two of the exposures examined 
are not indicated on the map. In the NE. J SW. J sec. 18, near the 
east end of a high ridge, 9 inches of coal is exposed; and at about a 
quarter of a mile to the west 1 foot 8 inches of coal is exposed at 
the same horizon. 

The stratigraphic distance between beds L and I at location 367, 
in sec. 4, is 57 feet and between beds J and L at location 369, in sec. 18, 
is 49 feet. 

Bed M .—Coal section 370, measured in lot 1, sec. 7, shows that bed 
M contains 7 feet 11 inches of coal in two benches, the upper one 4 
feet 5 inches thick, separated by 2 inches of bone. Shale both over- 
lies and underlies the coal at this place. It is quite probable that 
bed M underlies the small outlying hill in the northwestern part of 
sec. 7 and also an irregular strip along the west side of sec. 6, where 
its horizon is covered by alluvium. It is known to be present also 
in the outlier, whose eastern part extends into sec. 18. 

T. 25 S., R. 4 E. 

Only three coal beds (A, L, and M) are known to be exposed in 
T. 25 S., R. 4 E. 

Bed A .—Bed A was measured at three locations in this township, 
designated on Plates IX and X by Nos. 371 to 373. At each of the 
three exposures, which are in sec. 25, it contains about 2 feet of coal, 


72 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

but southwestward from sec. 25 no outcrop was seen, and little is 
known of the bed in secs. 26, 34, and 35. 

Bed L .—Bed L in this township was measured at seven locations 
(PI. IX and X, Nos. 374 to 380). The bed ranges in thickness 
from 1 foot 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches, being thinnest at locations 
376 and 377 and thickest at location 378. So far as the exposures 
reveal the thickness and character of the coal, bed L is very irregular, 
as is shown graphically on Plate IX. In the SW. £ SE. £ sec. 34, 
at location 380, a total of 3 feet 6 inches of coal is present in three 
beds in a thickness of about 12 feet of strata. The two lower beds 
are of little value, as they are thin and widely separated by clay 
and bone. The upper bed, 2 feet 6 inches thick, is probably all that 
would be removed in mining. 

Bed M .—Six measurements were obtained on bed M in this town¬ 
ship, and are designated on Plate X by Nos. 381 to 386. All these 
sections are shown graphically on Plate IX, except No. 384 and 
the upper two benches of No. 381. In sec. 13, at location 381, 

3 feet 8 inches of coal is exposed in a section of rocks 13 feet 

4 inches in thickness. The two upper beds are each 6 inches thick 
and are separated by 4 feet of yellowish-gray sandstone. The 
middle bed is separated from the lowest by 5 feet 6 inches of 
brown shale. It is quite probable that only the lower bed of coal, 
which is 2 feet 8 inches thick (see PI. IX) will be mined. At loca¬ 
tion 384 about 800 feet slightly west of south of location 383, in the 
NW. £ NW. £ sec. 35,1 foot 3 inches of coal, overlain by sandstone and 
underlain by brown shale, represents this bed. Overlying bed M 
at this locality there is more sandy material than was noted in this 
part of the columnar section at any other place in the Emery coal 
field. Usually bed M is overlain directly by yellowish-drab sandy 
shale, becoming less sandy toward the top. One or two thin beds of 
limestone also were noted in the overlying rocks within a distance of 
100 feet above this coal bed. At location 386 1 foot 11 inches of coal 
is present in 7 feet 11 inches of strata. The upper bed is 1 foot 4 
inches thick and the lower one 7 inches thick. They are separated by 
6 feet of light-gray to dark clay and shale. 


T. 25 S., R. 5 E. 


In T. 25 S., R. 5 E., 21 measurements were obtained on four coal 
beds. The following table shows the numbers of the coal sections 
measured on each bed: 


M_ 

La 


Coal beds exposed in T. 25 S., R. 5 E. 

Coal 

sections. 

_ 403-407 L _ 

_ 402 A _ 


Coal 

sections. 

396-401 

387-395 








the coal. 


78 


Bed A .—Coal bed A was examined in this township at nine locations 
(PI* ^5 Aos. 387 to 395). The sections are shown graphically on 
Plate IX, except those at locations 393 to 395. South westward from 
sec. 3 into sec. 9 bed A shows a gradual decrease in thickness, rang¬ 
ing from 7 feet 2 inches at location 387 to 2 feet 6 inches at location 
392. No exposures were observed in secs. 16 and 17, but farther south¬ 
west the bed is of no economic value, being too thin. In the NW. J 
NE. ^ sec. 20, at location 393, bed A contains only 5 inches of good 
coal, which is overlain and underlain by several feet of brown car¬ 
bonaceous shale, containing in places thin streaks of coal. The bed is 
represented by 10 inches of coal with a little bone, overlain and un¬ 
derlain by dark-brown shale, at location 394, in the NW. J NE. £ 
sec. 30. At location 395, in sec. 30, ^about a quarter of a mile south¬ 
west of location 394, bed A contains only 11 inches of coal, overlain 
by clay and underlain by shale. 

Bed Z.—Bed L was measured in this township at six places— 
Nos. 396 to 401 (see Pis. IX and X), inclusive. The graphic sec¬ 
tions on Plate IX show the character and thickness of the bed and 
probably roughly represent its true condition, as the exposures are 
rather uniformly distributed over the northwestern part of the 
township. At location 398, in sec. 6 , a bed which lies 10 feet below 
the bed shown in the plate of graphic sections (PI. IX) contains 
only 3 inches of coal. 

Bed La .—Only one exposure, at location 402, in sec. 3, was ex¬ 
amined at the horizon of bed La in this township. It is believed that 
the coal exposed here is but a local lens or probably a split from 
either bed M or bed L. This section is given on Plate IX. 

Bed M .—Coal bed M was measured in this township at five loca¬ 
tions, which are designated on Plates IX and X by Nos. 403 to 407. 
The exposures examined are not well distributed and so perhaps 
do not truly represent bed M in the entire township. The bed is 
probably irregular in thickness and occurrence, however, as may be 
inferred from the sections at locations 403 to 405, which are very 
near together in secs. 4 and 5. At locations 406, in sec. 18, and 407, 
in sec. 30, the bed is more than 5 feet thick, but little is known of the 
coal between these exposures or between locations 406, in sec. 18, and 
405, in sec. 5. It is believed, however, that only the middle bench 
of coal at location 404 is exposed at location 405. 

T. 26 S,, Ri 4 E. 

The coal beds of T. 26 S., R. 4 E., which are present only in secs. 
2 , 3 , and 4 , were measured at five locations—Nos. 408 to 412. 

Bed A .—Bed A was measured at three places in this township, 
which are represented on Plates IX and X by Nos. 408 to 410. 
At location 409, in sec. 3, a prospect tunnel about 15 feet in length had 


74 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 


been made. The coal here was very much broken and distorted. The 
lower 3-foot bench of the lower bed w T as sampled for analysis 
(laboratory No. 15060, p. 80) at the back end of this entry. The 
lov T er coal bed, as shown on Plate IX by coal section 409, may 
be present elsewhere, but at locations 408 and 410 there is no evi¬ 
dence of its existence. 

Bed B .—At location 411, in the SE. 4 NW. J sec. 3, 1 foot 1 inch 
of coal, overlain by clay and underlain by shale, represents bed B. 
The coal at this place is about 12 feet stratigraphically above bed A. 

Bed L .—At location 412, in the SE. J NE. J sec. 4, 4 feet 4 inches 
of coal, overlain and underlain by shale, represents what is believed 
to be bed L. On account of considerable cover in places and the dis¬ 
turbed condition of the strata it was not practicable to obtain other 
measurements on any of the coal beds in this township. 

COAL IN THE DAKOTA SANDSTONE. 

The coal in the Dakota sandstone is of some economic importance 
in central and eastern Utah south of the Book Cliffs, 1 but along the 
east side of Castle Valley it is of little value at present, and, consider¬ 
ing the extensive deposits of coal in the Mesaverde formation in the 
Wasatch Plateau and Book Cliffs fields and in the Ferron sandstone 
member of the Mancos shale in the Emery field, it seems doubtful if 
the coal of Dakota age in this region will ever be mined, except pos¬ 
sibly in a small way for domestic use by ranchers. 

Sections of coal beds of Dakota age are described below in order 
from north to south. The locations examined are indicated on 
Plate XII. The northernmost exposure of coal in the Dakota sand¬ 
stone examined in Castle Valley is in the SE. J NW. \ sec. 24, T. 17 
S., R. 10 E., at location 413, where there is 3 inches of coal, overlain 
by 2 feet or more of black carbonaceous shale and underlain by 5 
feet or more of the same material. Several prospect pits, some of 
which are 8 feet or more in depth, have been opened in the vicinity 
of location 413. No evidence of coal exists at the outcrop of the 
Dakota, although exposures are good for about 15 miles to the south¬ 
west, but on the west side of Huntington Creek, in the NW. J SW. J 
sec. 9, T. 19 S., R. 9 E., at location 414 the following section shows 
the character of the rocks: 

Section of coal-bearing strata in Dakota sandstone at location 414 , in sec. 9, 

T. 19 S., R. 9 E. 

Ft. in. 

Sandstone, yellow, carbonaceous_ 1 0 

Shale, black, very carbonaceous; contains thin streaks 

of coal at base_ 1 q 

Sandstone, yellow, carbonaceous_ 5 o 

7 6 


1 Richardson, G. B., Reconnaissance of the Book Cliffs coal field, between Grand River, 
Colo., and Sunnyside, Utah ; U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 371, pp. 12-13, 1909. 








U S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

•T. 21 S., R.7 E 


BULLETIN 620 PLATE VIII 


T. 23 S.. R. 6 E. 



SECTIONS OF COAL BEDS IN T. 21 S„ R. 7 E.,T. 22 S., RS. 6 AND 7 E., AND T. 23 S., R. 6 E., EMERY COUNTY, UTAH 
































































































































































































U S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


■T. 24 S., R. 6 E. 


BULLETIN 628 PLATE IX 


T. 24 S„ R. 5 E. 




Bed 


349 




Bed M 



Bed J 



T. 25 S., R. 4 E. 


T. 26 S„ R 4 E. 



SECTIONS OF COAL BEDS IN T. 24 S., RS. 5 AND 6 E., T. 25 S„ RS. 4 AND 5 E„ AND T. 26 S., R. 4 E., SEVIER AND EMERY COUNTIES, UTAH 






























































































































































































0.3. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN 628 PLATE X 



MAP OF EMERY COAL, FIELD, EMERY AND SEVIER COUNTIES, UTAH 















































































































































































. . 








i 








































































THE COAL. 


75 


About 5 miles southeast of Castledale an exposure on the south side 
of Cottonwood Creek, in the SE. £ NW. £ sec. 17, T. 19 S., R. 9 E., at 
location 415, shows a lens of shale and coal interbedded, which ranges 
in thickness from a knife-edge to 3 feet. The lens is overlain and 
underlain by yellowish-gray iron-stained sandstone. About a quarter 
of a mile south of this place, at location 416, a prospect has been 
opened on a bed of bone 2 feet 5 inches thick, the top 11 inches of 
which contains thin layers of good coal. Three miles southwest of 
location 416, in the SW. £ NE. £ sec. 36, T. 19 S., R. 8 E., at location 
417 on the north side of Ferron Creek, coal “bloom,” which results 
from the weathering of a very thin bed (about half an inch) of coal, 
is plentiful. Southwest from this place for 18 or 20 miles the out¬ 
crop of the Dakota shows no evidence of coal, but at location 418, 
in the NE. £ NW. £ sec. 22, T. 22 S., R. 7 E., about 6 miles southeast 
of Emery, a bed of coal 1 foot 6 inches thick is exposed and contains 
streaks of brown carbonaceous shale. A few hundred feet to the 
southwest the following section was obtained: 


Section of coal bed in the Dakota sandstone at location 419, in the NE. 1 NW. 1 

sec. 22, T. 22 S., R. 7 E. 


Ft. in. 


Sandstone, brown, shaly, carbonaceous- 6 

Coal, bright, weathered ; joints contain gypsum- 9 

Shale, carbonaceous; contains thin streaks of coal— 34 

Coal, slightly bony- 64 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous-- 4 

Coal, bony_ 14 

Shale, brownish gray, carbonaceous- 2 6 


Coal bed_ 2 4 

Total coal_ 1 5 


The total amount of coal here would warrant mining where fuel 
is scarce, yet it seems doubtful if this bed will be utilized even as 
a source of domestic fuel, because much thicker beds of purer coal are 
present a few miles farther southwest in the Ferron sandstone mem¬ 
ber of the Mancos shale. The total coal at location 420, as shown by 
the following section, is practically the same as at location 419: 


Section of coal bed in the Dakota sandstone at location Jf20,in the NW. 4 NE. \ 

sec. 28, T. 22 S., R. 7 E. 

Ft. iu. 

Conglomerate, in places replaced by sandstone- 8 

Coal, much weathered ; contains gypsum in joints- 8 

Sandstone, gray, lenticular, conglomeratic- 3 

Coal, much weathered- T 

Coal, bony, impure- 2 

Shale, brownish black, sandy. 

Coal bed- 2 ^ 

Total cost- ^ ° 


















76 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

Coal in the Dakota sandstone was also examined in the SE. J SE. J 
sec. 25, T. 25 S., R. 4 E., at location 421, but is of little value here, as 
elsewhere in Castle Valley. 

Section of coal in the Dakota sandstone at location J$l, in the SE. 1 SE. 1 sec. 


25, T. 25 S., R. E. 

Ft. in. 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ 1 0 

Coal, apparently quite pure_ 8 

Shale, brown, carbonaceous_ 8 

Sandstone (?), poorly exposed_ 12 0 

Sandstone, white_ 2 6 

Coal, rusty, probably impure_ 3 

Sandstone and sandy shale, poorly exposed_ 12 0 


29 1 

COAL IN THE MESA VERDE FORMATION. 

Coal of Mesaverde age is exposed in the NW. \ NE. J sec. 22, T. 25 

S. , R. 4 E., at location 422. It was impossible to determine the exact 
thickness of the coal, owing to a fault that cuts the rocks a few feet 
from the exposure and has somewhat disturbed the adjacent strata. 
The fault has a vertical throw of about 75 feet, the downthrow being 
on the southwest side. At location 422 (see PL IX) 12 feet of coal 
was measured without exposing the base of the bed, but it is believed 
that very little coal remained unexposed at this place. The coal is 
overlain by 1 foot of brown shale and that by about 75 feet of sand¬ 
stone and clay interbedded. Although this bed w T as not traced in 
either direction from location 422, it is believed to be the only expo¬ 
sure of coal of Mesaverde age included in the area shown in Plate X. 

COAL IN THE MANGOS SHALE NEAR HENRY MOUNTAINS. 

A belt barren of coal, 30 or 40 miles in width, separates the Emery 
coal field from the coal-bearing rocks of the same age in the vicinity 
of the Henry Mountains, to the southeast. The rocks exposed in 
the intervening area belong to the Vermilion Cliff, La Plata, McElmo, 
and Dakota formations. Gilbert 1 states: “ The best outcrop was 
seen in the bank of the south branch of Lewis Creek where it crosses 
the upturned edge of the Blue Gate sandstone. The seam has a 
thickness of 4 feet only and is not well disposed for mining.” 

The writer in October, 1911, while visiting on a reconnaissance 
trip to the north end of the Henry Mountains, measured a flat-lying 
coal bed in Gilbert’s Blue Gate sandstone near the center of sec. 19, 

T. 31 S., R. 10 E., about 2J miles west of the base of Mount Ellen. 

1 Gilbert, G. K., Report on the geology of the Henry Mountains, p. 145, U. S. Geog. and 
Geol. Survey Rocky Mtn. Region, 1877. 











THE COAL. 


77 


The sandstone in which the coal occurs is believed to be the same as 
the Ferron sandstone member of the Mancos shale, to judge from its 
stratigraphic position and lithology. The section of the coal bed 
and associated rocks is given below: 


Section of coal bed measured near center o* sec. 19, T. SI R. 10 E. 


Ft. in. 

Sandstone, gray, soft, massive_ 15+ 

Sandstone, yellow and somber-colored_ 2 0 

Coal, bright_ 2 1 

Shale, sandy, with a little coal_ l£ 

Coal, bright, blocky_ 71 

Bone_ 3 

Coal, bright (no partings)_ 6 6 

Sandstone, gray, argillaceous_ 1+ 


Coal bed__ 9 7 

Total coal_;_ 9 2£ 


This coal is apparently a low-grade bituminous coal and is similar 
to that in the vicinity of Emery described in this report. The out¬ 
crop of this bed was not traced, hence nothing definite can be said 
as to its extent. 

Several other exposures of coal along Fremont River between the 
Emery field and the 
of coal crops out on the north side of Fremont River 4 or 5 miles 
west of Giles. This coal occurs in the upper part of what Gilbert 
called the Tununk sandstone or in the lower part of his Blue Gate 
shale, which, with but little doubt, corresponds to that part of 
the Mancos shale lying beneath the Ferron sandstone member in * 
Castle Valley. Coal is also reported near Hanksville, which is near 
the junction of Curtis and Fremont rivers. Coal of good quality has 
been mined at “ The Factory,” a prominent topographic feature 
about 6 miles north of Giles. 

CHARACTER OF THE COAL. 


Henry Mountains were examined. A 2-foot bed 


PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. 

The coal of the Emery field is pitch-black in color, but here and 
there thin layers of grayish-black bonelike coal are present. The 
coal when rubbed on unglazed porcelain gives a black streak and 
when pulverized in a mortar gives a black powder with possibly a 
slightly brownish tinge. In general the coal is bedded and has a 
bright vitreous luster, but parts of the same bed differ widely in 
appearance. In places the coal is distinctly banded, showing thin 
alternating bright and dull layers, while a few inches above or 
below the banded part the coal may be massive and either bright or 













78 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY , UTAH. 

dull, and other layers a few inches thick have a dull luster and 
resemble cannel coal in texture. The jointing and cleavage of the 
coal vary somewhat, being columnar in most places but cubical in 
others. The fracture of the coal is remarkably even. In texture it 
ranges from laminated to dense, and in coherence it is comparatively 
brittle. The coal is hard and when struck with a hammer emits a 
metallic sound. When burned it gives a bituminous odor and a short 
yellowish-red smoky flame. The resulting ash is fine grained and 
gray in color. It is not known definitely whether or not the coal 
will coke, but when the Pishel 1 coking test was applied it showed 
slight coking qualities. In places where the coal is somewhat 
weathered, the surfaces of joints and bedding planes are partly covered 
with thin films of sulphur and alkaline salts. Globules of resin are 
present in small amounts. That the coal has good stocking qualities 
is inferred from the reports of ranchers and others who use it and 
from the condition of the walls of country banks and prospect drifts 
that have been exposed to weathering for many years. 

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES. 

Three samples for analysis were collected in the Emery coal 
field during the field season of 1911. Two of these (laboratory Nos. 
12613 and 12627) were taken from coal bed I. Sample 12613 was 
collected from what is locally known as the Williams mine, at 
location 62, in the SE. £ SW. £ sec. 12, T. 22 S., R. 6 E., on the 
north side of Muddy Creek; sample 12627 was taken at the Brown¬ 
ing mine, at location 75, in the NE £ SW. \ sec. 33 of the same 
township on Quitchuppah Creek. Taff, in 1905, collected a sample 
(laboratory No. 2386, also shown in table, p. 80) from the Emery 
mine (location 181, in sec. 2, T. 23 S., R. 6 E.), which is also on bed I. 
The other sample taken in 1911 (laboratory No. 12652) represents 
coal bed C and was collected at the Casper mine, at location 29, in 
the SE. £ NW. £ sec. 26, T. 22 S., R. 6 E., on a minor western tribu¬ 
tary of Muddy Creek. 

Three additional samples for analysis were collected during the 
field season of 1912 in the part of the coal field south of Ivie Creek, 
but owing to the lack of prospecting these samples are considerably 
weathered. At location 197, in the SW. £ SW. £ sec. 32, T. 23 S., 
R. 6 E., a sample (laboratory No. 14903) was collected under a 
sandstone ledge at a surface prospect on coal bed I. Laboratory 
No. 15061 represents a sample collected at location 243, in the SE. J 
NE. \ sec. 26, T. 24 S., R. 5 E., from a surface prospect on coal 
bed A. In the SW. J NW. £ sec. 3, T. 26 S., R. 4 E., at location 409, 
a sample (laboratory No. 15090) was collected from the lower 3 

1 Pishel, M. A., A practical test for coking coals : Econ. Geology, vol. 3, pp. 265-275, 
1908, 





the coal. 


79 


feet of coal in a short prospect drift on bed A. As the drift is only 
about 15 feet long and was opened several years ago the sample un¬ 
doubtedly represents weathered coal. 

An effort was made to obtain samples as nearly unweathered as 
possible by removing a foot or more of the surface of the coal. It 
is believed, however, that notwithstanding the care taken, analyses 
12613 and 12652 represent slightly weathered coal. These samples 
were collected from mines in which air could circulate freely, but 
sample 12627, collected from the Browning mine, which was closed 
so that circulation of the air was at a minimum, is considered to be 
practically unweathered. An ultimate analysis, which shows ac¬ 
curately the amount of each chemical element in the coal, was made 
of sample 12627 in addition to the proximate analysis and calorific 
determinations. The analyses of the other samples collected are 
only proximate but include calorific determinations with the ex¬ 
ception of No. 2386, collected by Taff in 1905. 

A proximate analysis is much simpler than an ultimate analysis. 
In the former the coal is treated in such a way as to determine the 
amounts of moisture, volatile matter (gases), fixed carbon, and ash. 
Usually the amount of sulphur contained in the coal is ascertained. 
In the ultimate analysis the exact amounts of the elements consti¬ 
tuting the coal are determined. A calorific determination of the coal 
is usually made in both kinds of analyses in order to ascertain its 
heating value, which is expressed in terms of calories 1 and British 
thermal units. 2 

In sampling a coal bed a fresh face of the coal is chosen where 
possible and all surface impurities are removed. A channel is cut 
perpendicularly across the face of the coal bed from roof to floor 
of such size as to yield not less than 5 pounds for each foot of coal 
in the bed. Partings more than three-eighths of an inch in thick¬ 
ness are discarded. An oilcloth is generally used to catch the coal 
as it falls from the channel and to prevent moisture and impurities 
from being mixed with the sample. The coal is then pulverized, 
thoroughly mixed, quartered, opposite quarters discarded, and the 
remainder remixed. This process is continued until the sample is 
reduced to about 1 quart, which is sent in an air-tight can to the 
chemical laboratory of the Bureau of Mines at Pittsburgh for 
analysis. 

The accompanying table of analyses shows the composition of all 
the samples collected in the field and the heating value of all except 
one (No. 2386). 

1 A calorie is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of a gram of pure 
water 1° C. at or about 4° C. 

2 A British thermal unit (B. t. u.) is the quantity of heat required to raise the tempera¬ 
ture of 1 pound of water 1° F. at or near the temperature of maximum density (39.1° F.). 



80 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 


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the coal. 


81 


12613. Collected at the back end of the Williams mine (location 62, Pis. 
VIII and X), in the SE. i SW. \ sec. 12, T. 22 S., R. 6 E. The coal was pos¬ 
sibly slightly weathered. 

12627. Browning mine (location 75, Pis. VIII and X), in the NE. £ SW. 1 
sec. 33, T. 22 S., R. 6 E. The sample was taken from the lower 12 feet of coal 
bed I, which is 20 feet thick at this place. The sample probably represented 
practically fresh coal. 

23S6. Collected by J. A. Taff 1 in 1905 from the Emery mine (location 181), 
in the NW. i SW. i sec. 2, T. 23 S., R. 6 E., at the back end of a 50-foot drift 
which was inaccessible in 1911. 


14903. Surface prospect (location 197, Pis. VIII and X) in the SW. | SW. i 
sec. 32, T. 23 S., R. 6 E. This sample was collected under a sandstone ledge 
which protected the coal somewhat. About 2 feet of the outer coal was removed 
in order to obtain a more nearly fresh sample. It is believed, however, that this 
sample was much weathered. 

12652. Casper mine (location 29, Pis. VIII and X), in the SE. i NW. i sec. 
26, T. 22 S., R. 6 E. The sample was collected from the lower 7 feet 2 inches 
of the bed at a point about 250 feet northwest from the mouth of the entry. 
The coal was probably slightly weathered. 

15061. Surface prospect (location 243, Pis. IX and X) in the SE. i NE. 1 
sec. 26, T. 24 S., R. 5 E. The sample was collected from the lower 11 feet 3 
inches of the bed, excluding the 3-inch bone parting about 2 feet 9 inches above 
the base of the coal. The coal at this place if unweathered would probably 
compare favorably in calorific value with laboratory No. 12627. 

15090. Prospect (location 409, Pis. IX and X) in the SW. J NW. i sec. 3, T. 
26, S., R. 4 E. The sample was collected at the back end of a 15-foot drift from 
the lower 3-foot bench of coal. The analysis shows that it is much weathered 
and contains an excess of moisture. 


In the table the analyses are given in four forms, marked A, B, 
C, and D. Analysis A represents the composition of the sample as 
it came from the mine. This form is not well suited for compari¬ 
sons, for the amount of moisture in the sample as it comes from the 
mine is largely a matter of accident and consequently analyses of the 
same coal expressed irythis form may vary widely. Analyses B rep¬ 
resents the condition of the sample after it has been dried at a 
temperature slightly above normal room temperature until its weight 
becomes constant. This form of analysis is best adapted for general 
purposes of comparison. Analysis C represents the theoretical con¬ 
dition of the coal after all the moisture has been eliminated. Analy¬ 
sis D represents the coal after all moisture and ash have been theo¬ 
retically removed. This is supposed to represent the true coal 
substance free from the most important impurities. Forms C and 
D are obtained from the others by recalculation. 

In the analytical work it is not possible to determine the proximate 
constituents of coal or lignite Avith the same degree of accuracy as 
the ultimate constituents. Therefore the air-drying loss, moisture, 
volatile matter, fixed carbon, and ash are given to one decimal place 


1 Taff, J. A., Book Cliffs coal field, Utah, west of Green River : U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 
285, pp. 294, 301, 1906. 


21246°— Bull. 628—16-6 






82 


GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 


only; whereas in the ultimate analysis ash, sulphur, hydrogen, car¬ 
bon, nitrogen, and oxygen are given to two decimal places. The de¬ 
termination of the calorific value to individual units is not reliable, 
hence in the column headed u Calories ” the values are given to the 
nearest five units, and in the column headed “ British thermal units ” 
they are given to the nearest tens, as the British thermal unit is about 
one-half the value of a calorie. 

It seems to the writer that if the samples had been unweathered 
each analysis would show a heating value on the air-dried basis 
equal to or greater than that represented by laboratory No. 12627 
(13,000 British thermal units). Striking variations may be noted in 
the amount of ash and sulphur in the above table of analyses.* The 
ash on the air-dried basis varies from 5.95 (No. 12627) to 14.3 (No. 
12652) and averages 9.2; the sulphur ranges from 0.39 (No. 12627) 
to 4.7 (No. 12613), averaging 1.88. 

For comparison, the following table of analyses of coals from ad¬ 
jacent fields in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, is given: 

Analyses of coals from Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. a 


Locality. 

Labo¬ 

ratory 

No. 

Air- 

diying 

loss. 

Moist¬ 

ure. 

Volatile 

matter. 

Fixed 

carbon. 

Ash. 

Sul¬ 

phur. 

Calories. 

British 

thermal 

units. 

10 miles northwest of Pali- 










sades, Colo . 

3545 

4.4 

10.0 

32.7 

51.0 

6.3 

0.66 

6,310 

11,360 

5 miles north of Thomp- 










sons, Utah. 

3856 

2.3 

4.1 

32.6 

43.8 

19.5 

.60 

6,030 

10,8.50 

Emery, Utah. 

12627 

.3 

3.6 

41.0 

49.4 

6.0 

.39 

7,225 

13,000 

Sunnyside, U tah. 

12632 

3.4 

2.7 

40.0 

50.5 

6.8 

1.79 

7,385 

13,290 

(HI aar Prpp.V . TTtO-h. . ... 

542 

3.1 

4.0 

43.2 

47.3 

5. 5 

.58 



Trr»n Cnnntv. Utah. ....... 

3762 

2.3 

6.4 

37.3 

47.3 

9.0 

5.99 



Blacktail Mountain, Utah. 

10998 

9.0 

6.1 

42.3 

45.1 

6.5 

.90 

6,340 

11,410 

Uinta County, Wyo. 

4300 

1.6 

1.9 

36.5 

51.4 

10.2 

.93 

7,265 

13,080 

Rock Springs, Wyo. 

6772 

7.1 

4.7 

39.7 

53.9 

1.7 

.81 

7,310 

13,160 


a These are analyses of air-dried samples and should be compared with form B in the preceding table. 


An examination of this table shows that the coal in the Emery 
coal field compares very favorably with the coals of the near-by fields, 
with which it will have to compete sometime in the future. 

Moisture, sulphur, and ash are injurious constituents of coal and 
detract from its heating value. On the other hand, reasonably high 
fixed-carbon content accompanies an enhanced heating value. The 
analysis of sample 12627, from the Emery field, shows that it con¬ 
tains less moisture than any of the other coals listed, except those 
from Sunnyside, Utah, and Uinta County, Wyo. (laboratory Nos. 
12632 and 4300). It also contains a smaller amount of sulphur than 
any of the other analyses and 1 per cent less than the average sulphur 
content of all of them. In ash the Emery coal compares very favor¬ 
ably with the other coal beds shown in the above table in that it con¬ 
tains less than any of the other coals except those from Clear Creek, 




































THE COAL. 


83 


Utah, and Rock Springs, Wyo. (laboratory Nos. 542 and 6772), and 
nearly 1.5 per cent less than the average of all. The above table 
also shows that the Emery coal contains more fixed carbon than the 
coal from Thompsons, Clear Creek, Iron County, and Blacktail 
Mountain, Utah, but a little less than the coals from the other four 
localities. The fixed carbon in the Emery coal exceeds the average 
of the fixed carbon content of the coals in the above table by 0.6 per 
cent. The average of the British thermal units of seven of the coals 
cited is 12,310. The Emery coal contains about 700 British thermal 
units more than this average and exceeds all the coals compared ex¬ 
cept those from Sunnvside, Utah, and Uinta County and Rock 
Springs, Wyo. 


DEVELOPMENT. 

MINES AND PROSPECTS. 

Several small mines and prospects have been opened on the coal 
beds of this field, and considerable coal has been removed for local 
use. These drifts are described below in order from north to south 
along the outcrops of the various beds. 

cox PROSPECT. 

The Cox prospect (location 110, PL X), in the NE. J SE. \ sec. 
7, T. 22 S., R. 7 E., is on a lens of coal believed to be at the horizon of 
coal bed I, which, 300 feet east of the prospect, is replaced by mas¬ 
sive sandstone. The prospect consists of a single drift about 20 
feet long which extends slightly east of north along the strike of 
the rocks. Probably not more than 10 or 15 tons of coal has been 
removed. Owing to the well-preserved sandstone roof, propping is 
unnecessary. 

MOORE MINE. 

A drift about 100 feet in length extends N. 15° E. on coal bed I 
in the NW. i NE. J sec. 13, T. 22 S., R. 6 E., and is known locally as 
the Moore mine (location 60, PI. X). It is reported to have been 
opened in 1905 by Thomas Thompson, of Ferron, Utah. The roof, 
which is sandstone, is much broken by joints and requires consider¬ 
able support. At least 150 tons of coal has been mined from this 

place. * 

WILLIAMS MINE. 

The Williams mine (location 61, PI. X), also on bed I, is on the 
east side of Muddy Creek in the SE. L SW . \ sec. 12, T. 22 S., R. 6 E. 
Its entry, from which no rooms have been turned, is about 200 feet 
long and 12 feet wide and bears S. 60 c E. As the coal bed has a 
fairly good sandstone roof very little propping is necessary. A 


84 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY , UTAH. 


sample (laboratory No. 1*2613) taken at the back end of the entry 
(location 62) shows a heating value of 12,100 British thermal units 
on the air-dried basis. Probably 600 or 700 short tons of coal has 
been removed from this mine. The mouth of the mine is shown in 
Plate XI, A. 

CASPER MINE. 

One of the oldest mines in this field, known locally as the Casper 
mine, is on coal bed C on a tributary of Muddy Creek in the SE. j 
NW. 4 sec. 26, T. 22 S., P. 6 E. (location 29, PI. X), about 4 miles 
southeast of Emery. The coal bed at this place strikes X. 5° or 6° 
E. and dips about 2° W. Those mining coal here have left pillars 
here and there between great irregular cavelike rooms, some of 
which are large enough for a team and wagon to turn in them. It 
has been the custom to load the wagons in the mine at the faces of 
the entry and rooms, thus avoiding any mine haul and the construc¬ 
tion of a loading tipple. Owing to the irregular shape of the mine 
cavity, it is difficult to estimate the amount of coal removed, but it 
is believed that 1,000 to 2,000 tons has been taken from the Casper 
mine. A sample (laboratory Xo. 12652), which shows 11,480 Brit¬ 
ish thermal units on the air-dried basis, was collected at a point 
about 250 feet northwest of the mine mouth. The coal bed has a 
good sandstone roof and requires very little support. Plate XI, />, 
shows the conditions at the mouth of the Casper mine. 

EMERY MINE. 

The Emery mine (location 181, PI. X), in the NW. J SW. 4 sec. 
2, T. 23 S., I\. 6 E., was inaccessible in 1911 on account of caving. 
Some coal is mined from the same bed (bed I) at a surface exposure 
near the head of a small ravine directly south of the mouth of the old 
mine. Two entries have been driven—one 20+ feet and the other 50+ 
feet long. Taff. 1 who collected a sample from this “ country bank” 
in 1905, states: “ A drift has been driven 50 feet on the coal and two 
rooms have been turned.” The analysis (laboratory No. 2386) made 
from the sample collected by Taff at this place is republished in the table 
of analyses on page 80 in order that all analyses made from coals 
in the Emery coal field may appear together. It is estimated that 
at least 1,000 tons of coal has been removed from the Emery mine. 

BROWNING MINE. 

% 

In 1881 Philip Pugsley opened a prospect on the outcrop of coal 
bed I in the XE. 4 SAV. 4 sec. 33, T. 22 S., P. 6 E. (location 75, PI. X) 
on the east s'u\ of Quitchuppah Creek and directly south of the 
mouth of Dipping Vat Creek. This mine, which supplies the 

1 Taff, J. A., Rook Cliffs coal field, Utah, west of Green River: T\ S. Geol. Survey Bull 
285, p. 301, 1006. 






U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 


BULLETIN 628 PLATE XI 




B. CASPER MINE, ON COAL BED C, ABOUT 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF EMERY. 









THE COAL. 


85 


greater part of the fuel for the town of Emery and the ranchers 
living near by, is known locally as the Browning mine because it 
is under the management of Ira R. Browning, of Castledale. The 
coal bed at this place is 20 feet thick, as shown by section 75 (PI. 
VIII). The entry bears N. 85° E. for a distance of 165 feet. One 
room, about 40 feet in length, has been turned to the north at a point 
about 90 feet from the mine mouth. In mining, only the lower 12 
feet of coal is removed, the upper part of the bed serving as a 
roof that requires no support. The coal is brought to the surface 
by means of a small car on a steel track. The surface equipment 
consists of wagon scales, a substantial coal bin, and a dwelling 
house for the use of the miners. During the winter of 1910-11 
about 450 tons of coal was sold at the mine at $1.50 a ton. The total 
amount of coal removed is probably not less than 2,000 short tons. 
A sample (laboratory No. 12627) was taken from the lower 12 feet 
of the bed at the back end of the entry. This analysis shows that 
the coal on the air-dried basis yields 13.000 British thermal units. 

OTHER DRIFTS. 

In the NW. \ NE. J sec. 33, T. 22 S., R. 6 E., on the north side 
of Dipping Vat Creek, a tributary of Quitchuppah Creek, there is 
an abandoned drift on coal bed I. The total thickness of the coal 
could not be measured on account of caving and the presence of 
water. The drift is 20 to 30 feet long and the coal apparently 
equals in quality and thickness that exposed in the Browning mine. 
The strata dip more steeply at this place than at the Browning 
mine. It is estimated that at least 200 tons of coal has been removed. 

A prospect drift (location 16, PI. X) on coal bed A, in the SW. { 
SE. i sec. 33, T. 22 S., R. 6 E., on the north side of Quitchuppah 
Creek, bears nearly north and is about 50 feet long. Probably not 
more than 30 or 40 tons of coal has been taken from this prospect. 

On the east side of Quitchuppah Creek, in the NE. £ NE. J sec. 
4, T. 23 S., R. 6 E., 75 or 100 feet above the stream level, another 
prospect, probably on coal bed A, was noted but not visited by the 
writer. There is also a small surface prospect on coal bed I (loca¬ 
tion 87, PL X) in the NE. J NW. i sec. 19, T. 22 S., R. 7 E. A 
small prospect drift, about 15 feet long, in the SW. J NW. J sec. 
3, T. 26 S., R. 4 E., at location 409, exposes 6 feet 4 inches of coal 
in two beds. The entry is about 3 feet 8 inches in width and aver¬ 
ages 4 feet in height, except at the back end, where a hole has been 
dug exposing the lower bed, of which the lower 3-foot bench of 
coal was sampled and is represented by laboratory No. 15090. 

Coal has heen mined at several places in the Emery field from sur¬ 
face exposures, but the total production of coal from the field prob¬ 
ably does not exceed 6,000 short tons. 


86 GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF CASTLE VALLEY, UTAH. 

TRANSPORTATION ROUTES. 

Two railroad routes have been surveyed into this coal field, one 
from the west and the other from the northeast. The former is con¬ 
sidered to be the best by the company that controls the greater amount 
of coal land in this area, which is in the vicinity of Ivie and Quit- 
chuppah creeks. Already about 20 miles of railroad, which is now 
in poor condition owing to floods, has been constructed eastward up 
Salina Canyon from Salina, which is on the Denver & Rio Grande 
Railroad. The additional construction of about 30 miles of railroad 
with a comparatively low grade would connect the heart of the coal 
field with the eastern terminus of the Salina Canyon branch. Such 
a route would furnish a more direct outlet to the Pacific coast than 
the route surveyed to the northeast through Castle Valley, joining the 
main line of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad at Price or Welling¬ 
ton, and, in addition, would be equally direct to the Salt Lake City 
region. If the northeastern route is chosen, about 70 miles of railroad 
must be built over a country that presents practically as great diffi¬ 
culties mile for mile as must be surmounted on the western route, 
where only 30 miles is required. The Castle Valley Railroad has 
constructed a spur from Price as far southwest as Mohrland, in 
T. 16 S., R. 8 E., but only a small portion of this road could be used 
to advantage, as it is situated mainly high in the foothills adjacent to 
the Wasatch Plateau. 

TONNAGE. 

A careful estimate was made of the coal in the Emery coal field. 
It is assumed in calculating the tonnage that each acre of land 
underlain by a coal bed 1 foot thick (1 acre-foot) contains 1,800 tons. 
In the table given below two columns of figures are shown. The one 
on the left gives the estimated tonnage ; the one on the right shows 
approximately the amount of coal that can be recovered, on the as¬ 
sumption that only 1,000 tons of coal can be mined from each acre- 
foot. By careful mining, however, much more than this amount may 
be recovered. 


Estimated quantity of coal in Emery coal field, Utah. 


Township. 

Total coal. 

Recoverable 

coal. 

T.21S..R.6E. 

Short tons. 
21,463,000 
311,000 
427,176,000 
21,736,000 
214,310,000 
355,877,000 
268,389,000 
33,171,000 
30,093,000 
54,734,000 
1, .805,000 

Short tons. 
11,923,000 
173,000 
237,320,000 
12,075,000 
119,061,000 
197,710,000 
149,106,000 
18,027,000 
16,741,000 
30,408,000 
1,002,000 

T. 21 S.,R.7E. 

T.22S.,R.6E. 

T. 22 S.,R. 7 E. 

T.23S.,R.5E. 

T. 23 S.,R, 6 E. 

T. 24 S., R. 5 E. 

T. 24 S.,R. 6 E. 

T. 25 S., R. 4 E. 

T. 25 S., R. 5 E. 

T. 26S.,R. 4E. 


1,429,065,000 

793,546,000 




























U S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
































































INDEX 


Page. 

Alluvial fans, description of. 36-37 

Allred, Merrill, work of. 12 

Analyses of coal from the Emery coal field_80-82 

Analyses of coals from Colorado, Utah, and 

Wyoming. 82 

Book Cliffs, topography of. 18 

Browning, I. R., acknowledgment to. 12 

Browning mine, description of. 84-85 

Carboniferous rocks, exposures of. 21 

fossils from. 21-22 

Casper mine, description of. 84 

plate showing. 84 

Castledale, description of. 13 

Castledale dome, description of. 40 

Castle Valley, situation of. 7,12-13 

topography of. 17,18-19 

Chemical properties of the coal. 78-83 

Christensen, Casper, work of. 12 

Clark, B. W., work of. 12 

Clark, F. R., work of. 12 

Clawson, description of. 13-14 

Cleveland, description of... 13 

Climate of the region. 17 

Coal, distribution of, in the Ferron standsone. 7 

early mention of. 9-10 

formations containing. 43-44 

quantity of. 86 

Coal bed A, exposures of. 49, 

57,63-64,67-68,71-72,73-74 

B, exposures of. 47-48,57,74 

C, exposures of. 49-50,54-55,57-58,68 

D, exposures of. 50,58 

E, exposures of.50,58 

F, exposures of. 50,55-56,58-59,68-69 

G, exposures of. 51,59,64,69 

H, exposures of. 51-52,59,64,70 

I, exposures of. 52-53,56,59-60,64-65,70 

J, exposures of. 53-54,60-61,65-66,70-71 

K, exposures of. 54,61,66,71 

L, exposures of. 54,61-62,66-67,71,72,73,74 

La, exposure of. 73 

M, exposures of. 62-63,67,71,72,73 

Concretions in the Ferron sandstone, plate 

showing. 34 

Cox prospect, description of. 83 

Cretaceous system, rocks of.26-35 

Dakota sandstone, character and thickness of. 26-30 

coal beds in. 43,74-76 

unconformity in, northeast of Ferron. 26 

Desert Lake, description of. 13 

Domes, descriptions of. 40-41 

Emery, description of. 14 

Emery coal field, map of. 74 

situation of. 13 


Page. 


Emery County, recorder of, acknowledg¬ 
ment to. 12 

Emery fault, north of I vie Creek, plate show¬ 
ing. 40 

Emery mine, description of. 84 

Eocene series, rocks of. 35-36 

Farnham, description of. 13 

Farnham up fold, description of.40,41 

Fath, A. E., work of. 12 

Faults, descriptions of.41-43 

Ferron, A. D., surveying by. 11-12 

Ferron, description of.11,14 

Ferronsandstone member of the Mancos shale, 

character and thickness of.... 7,31-33 

coal beds in. 43,44 

correlation of. 44-47 

distribution of. 47-74 

columnar sections of. 44 

plate showing. 32 

concretions in, plate showing. 34 

southeast of Emery, plate showing. 30 

unconform ity in, plate showing. 30 

Field work, method of. 10-11 

Forrester, Robert, description of Castle Val¬ 
ley coal by. 9-10 

Fossils from Carboniferous rocks, identifica¬ 
tion of. 21-22 

from the Mancos shale, identification of. 30,31,34 
from the McElmo formation, identifica¬ 
tion of. 24 

from the Mesaverde formation, identifica¬ 
tion of. 35 

Geologic map of Castle Valley. 86 

Girty, G. H., fossils determined by.21-22 

Green River (?) formation, character and 

thickness of. 36 

Gimnison, Capt. J. W., exploration by. 9 

Hanson, A. P., work of. 11 

Howell, E. E., mention of Castle Valley coal 

by. 9 

Hoxie, Lieut. R. L., exploration by. 9 

Huntington, description of. 13 

Igneous rocks, occurrence of. 39 

Industries of the region. 14 

lessen, A., work of. 11 

Jurassic system, rocks of.23-26 

Knowlton, F. H., fossils determined by. 35 

La Plata sandstone, character and correlation 

Of. 23 

contact of, with McElmo formation, plate 

showing. 24 

Last Chance Creek, coal-bearing rocks near, 

plate showing. 8 

Last Chance Creek dome, description of. 40 

87 




























































































88 


INDEX. 


Page. 


Lawrence, description of. 13 

Lloyd, E. R., work of. 12 

McElmo formation, character and correla¬ 
tion of. 23-21 

contact of, with La Plata sandstone, plate 

showing. 24 

fossils from. 24 

section of. 24-26 

Mancos shale, character and divisionsof.30-34 

coal beds in. 47-74,76-77 

Massey, Arthur, work of. 12 

Massey, Millard, work of. 12 

Mesaverde formation, character and thickness 

of. 34-35 

coal beds in. 43-44,76 

Mielke, W. L., work of. 12 

Miller, H. W., work of. 11 

Mills, R. V. A., work of. 12 

Mining of the coal.83-85 

Molen, description of. 14 

Moore mine, description of. 83 

Mounds, coal-bearing rocks near, plate show¬ 
ing. 8 

description of. 13 

Nelson, A., work'of. 11 

Objects of the investigation. 8-9 

Orangeville, description of. 13 

Paradise dome, description of. 40 

Paradise Fault, near the southwest end of the 

Emery coal field, plate showing.. 40 

Paradise Lake, description of. 16 

Physical properties of the coal. 77-78 

Pleistocene (?) series, formations of.36-39 

Quaternary system, formations of. 36-39 

Railroads, routes for. 86 

Recent series, deposits of. 39 


Page. 

Roads of the region. 14-15 

Rochester, description of. 14 

Rochester upfold, description of. 40 

San Rafael Swell, topography of. 19 

Sections of coal beds in Castle Valley, plates 

showing. 74 

Springs in Castle Valley, situation of. 16 

Stanton, T. W., fossils determined by.. 24,30,31,34 

Stratigraphy, general features of. 19-21 

Structure of the region.39-43 

Taff, J. A., mention of Castle Valley coal by. 10 

Terrace gravels, description of.37-39 

Tertiary system, rocks of. 35-36 

Tonnage of coal, estimate of. 86 

T. 21 S., R. 7 E., coal beds in. 47-48 

T. 22 S., R. 6 E., coal beds in.48-54 

T. 22 S., R. 7 E., coal beds in.54-56 

T. 23 S., R. 6 E., coal beds in. 56-63 

T. 24 S., R. 5 E., coal beds in.63-67 

T. 24 S., R. 6 E., coal beds in.67-71 

T. 25 S., R. 4 E., coal beds in.71-72 

T. 25 S., R. 5 E., coal beds in.72-73 

T. 26 S., R. 4 E., coal beds in. 73-74 

Transportation, routes for. 86 

Triassic system, rocks of. 22 

Upfolds, descriptions of. 40-41 

Vegetation of the region. 17 

Vermillion Cliff sandstone, section of. 22 

Victor, description of. 13 

Wasatch formation, character and thickness 

of. 35-36 

Wasatch Plateau, topography of. 18 

Water resources of the region. 15-17 

Wellington, description of. 13 

Williams mine, description of.83-84 

plate showing. 84 









































































